Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 1988
Tornado Warning 4, NWS New Orleans, LA
NWS New Orleans, LA issued this tornado warning at May 24, 1988, 4:59 PM CDT for Jefferson Parish, Orleans Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 31 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 24, 1988, 4:59 PM CDT (21:59 UTC)
- Expired
- May 24, 1988, 5:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 31 min
- Issued by
- NWS New Orleans, LA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Jefferson Parish, LA, Orleans Parish, LA
The radar
The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.
The nearest sounding before it
Boothville, LA (KBVE), launched 12:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 85 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2654 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -44 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 683 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 46 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 43 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 101 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.7
- Supercell composite
- 3.9
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KNEW 242207 COR
TORNEW
LAC051-071-242230-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
459 PM CDT TUE MAY 24 1988
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW ORLEANS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 530 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING PARISHES...
IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA
...NORTHERN JEFFERSON...ORLEANS
AT 456PM CDT THE NATIONAL WEATHER HAS RECEIVED SEVERAL REPORTS OF A
FUNNEL CLOUD IN THE VICINITY OF METAIRIE IN JEFFERSON PARISH. WEATHER
RADAR INDICATES A STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN THAT AREA MOVING EAST AT 30
MPH.
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Local storm report, May 24, 2:37 PM CDT, 2 hours 22 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
235 PM CST TUE MAY 24 1988
1141 AM CDT...MARBLE SIZE HAIL IN HOUMA...TERREBONNE PARISH.
1203 PM CDT...WIND GUST TO 42 KTS...48 MPH AT HOUMA AIRPORT.
S
130 PM TO 150 PM...1.0 TO 2.0 INCH HAIL REPORTED ACROSS SOUTHEAST
ST TAMMANY PARISH.Special weather statement, May 24, 4:13 PM CDT, 46 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA 410 PM CDT TUE MAY 24 1988 A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS INDICATED BY RADAR OVER ST. CHARLES PARISH MOVING EAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. THESE STORMS WILL BE MOVING ACROSS THE METROPOLITAN NEW ORLEANS AREA DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. SMALL HAIL WAS REPORTED WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS AT RESERVE AND AS THEY MOVE ACROSS THE METROPOLITAN NEW ORLEANS AREA THEY WILL LIKELY PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS...SMALL HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN... AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. EVENING COMMUTERS SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION AND THE VISIBILITY WILL BE GREATLY REDUCED IN THE VERY HEAVY RAIN.
Special weather statement, May 24, 4:35 PM CDT, 24 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA 435 PM CDT TUE MAY 24 1988 ...A SPECIAL MARINE WARNING IS IN EFFECT OF LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA UNTIL 615 PM... ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM FOR MOST OF SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA... AT 435 PM A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING INTO THE NEW ORLEANS AREA AND EXTENDED ACROSS LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN TO NEAR HAMMOND. SMALL HAIL WAS REPORTED WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS AT RESERVE AND AS THEY MOVE ACROSS THE METROPOLITAN NEW ORLEANS AREA THEY WILL LIKELY PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS...SMALL HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN... AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. RESIDENTS AND MOTORIST SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AN BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER IS SIGHTED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED. NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN AND POSSIBLY SMALL HAIL EXTENDED ACROSS SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA FROM JUST NORTH OF BATON ROUGE TO JUST NORTH OF BOGALUSA. THESE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED INTO MISSISSIPPI BETWEEN MCCOMB AND HATTIESBURG AND ON EAST INTO SOUTHWEST ALABAMA. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR.
The office that day
Everything else NWS New Orleans, LA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 11:48 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Assumption, Lafourche, Terrebonne | 57 min |
| May 24, 12:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Plaquemines, Saint Bernard | 51 min |
| May 24, 2:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Jefferson, Plaquemines | 67 min |
| May 24, 2:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Lafourche, Terrebonne | 67 min |
| May 24, 2:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Saint Tammany | 61 min |
| May 24, 3:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Saint Helena | 58 min |
| May 24, 3:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Tangipahoa | 62 min |
| May 24, 3:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | East Feliciana | 41 min |
| May 24, 4:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Saint Helena | 61 min |
| May 24, 5:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Saint Tammany, Tangipahoa | 55 min |
| May 24, 5:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Saint Tammany, Tangipahoa | 63 min |
| May 24, 6:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Saint Tammany | 49 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Louisiana, 1988Every tornado warning in 1988Tornadoes in 1988
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.