Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 1989
Tornado Warning 13, NWS Lake Charles, LA
NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this tornado warning at May 18, 1989, 11:39 AM CDT for Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 51 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- May 18, 1989, 11:39 AM CDT (16:39 UTC)
- Expired
- May 18, 1989, 12:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 51 min
- Issued by
- NWS Lake Charles, LA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Lafayette Parish, LA
The radar
The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 12:15 PM CDT | Tornado F1 | Lafayette, LA |
NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.
The nearest sounding before it
Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 4.7 hours before the alert went out and 110 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 619 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 68 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 61 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 353 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KLCH 181641
TORLCH
LAC055-181730-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
1139 AM CDT THU MAY 18 1989
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1230 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING PARISH...
IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA
...LAFAYETTE
PUBLIC REPORTED DAMAGE TO HOUSE TRAILER IN THE NORTHWEST PART OF
LAFAYETTE PARISH AT 1127 AM CDT BELIEVED TO BE POSSIBLE TORNADO.
AT 1130 AM CDT RADAR SHOWED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO THE
WESTERN PART OF LAFAYETTE PARISH. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY
REINFORCED BUILDING. GET UNDER A PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE
PREFERABLY IN AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS
OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS.The office that day
Everything else NWS Lake Charles, LA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 10:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Vernon | 63 min |
| May 17, 11:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Beauregard | 55 min |
| May 17, 11:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Grant, LaSalle, Rapides | 2 hr |
| May 18, 2:30 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Rapides | 60 min |
| May 18, 7:51 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | LCH | Beauregard, Calcasieu, Jefferson Davis | 3 hr |
| May 18, 7:51 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | LCH | Allen | 3 hr |
| May 18, 8:28 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | LCH | Vernon | 3 hr |
| May 18, 11:04 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | LCH | Allen, Evangeline, Jefferson Davis | 116 min |
| May 18, 11:04 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | LCH | Beauregard, Calcasieu, Vernon | 116 min |
| May 18, 11:25 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | LCH | Acadia | 35 min |
| May 18, 12:22 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LCH | Lafayette | 38 min |
| May 18, 12:28 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LCH | Calcasieu | 62 min |
| May 18, 12:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Beauregard | 56 min |
| May 18, 12:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Cameron | 49 min |
| May 18, 1:03 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | LCH | Beauregard, Calcasieu, Jefferson Davis | 4 hr |
| May 18, 1:03 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | LCH | Allen | 4 hr |
| May 18, 1:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Acadia, Allen, Evangeline, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Vermilion | 119 min |
| May 18, 1:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Cameron | 119 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Louisiana, 1989Every tornado warning in 1989Tornadoes in 1989
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.