Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Lake Charles, LA

March 29, 1989Vernon Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this tornado warning at Mar 29, 1989, 3:28 AM CST for Vernon Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 47 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 29, 1989, 3:28 AM CST (09:28 UTC)
Expired
Mar 29, 1989, 4:15 AM CST
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties

County Vernon 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

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 9.5 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 00:00Z on 1989-03-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 675 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 00:00Z on 1989-03-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 125 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
675 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-66 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
686 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
125 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
85 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
3.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KLCH 290928
TORLCH
LAC115-291015-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
328 AM CST WED MAR 29 1989

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 415 AM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING PARISH

   IN THE SOUTHWEST PART OF LOUISIANA
      VERNON

AT 322 AM THE VERNON PARISH SHERIFFS OFFICE REPORTED A TORNADO HAD
TOUCHED DOWN IN THE COMMUNITY OF ANACOCO IN NORTHERN VERNON PARISH.
LAKE CHARLES RADAR SHOWN A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY
RAIN MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES...
TAKE COVER IN A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

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

Special weather statement, Mar 29, 2:41 AM CST, 47 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
240 AM CST WED MAR 29 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA
UNTIL 8AM CST...

AT 2225 AM CST...A LINE OF NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN
WAS SHOWN IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS FROM RAYBURN LAKE TO KOUNTZE TO JUST WEST
OF BEAUMONT TO THE COAST IN THE GALVESTON AREA.  THE LINE WAS MOVING EAST
AT 25 MPH.

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE OCCURRING ALONG THE
TEXAS/LOUISIANA BORDER FROM SABINE PASS TO TOLEDO BEND RESERVOIR.

A LARGE ALMOST SOLID MASS OF RAIN MIXED WITH SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
CONTINUED OVER EAST AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND EXTENDED INTO THE EXTREME
WESTERN PORTIONS OF LOUISIANA FROM CAMERON TO MANY AND MANSFIELD.

LARGE PATCHES OF RAIN MIXED WITH SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED INTO
THE COASTAL WATERS FROM FREEPORT TEXAS TO SABINE PASS.

THE RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING OVER EAST AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS WILL
SPREAD OVER MOST OF SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA THIS MORNING.
PERIODS OF VERY HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED.
Special weather statement, Mar 29, 2:45 AM CST, 43 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
240 AM CST WED MAR 29 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA
UNTIL 8AM CST...

AT 225 AM CST...A LINE OF NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN
WAS SHOWN IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS FROM RAYBURN LAKE TO KOUNTZE TO JUST WEST
OF BEAUMONT TO THE COAST IN THE GALVESTON AREA.  THE LINE WAS MOVING EAST
AT 25 MPH.

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE OCCURRING ALONG THE
TEXAS/LOUISIANA BORDER FROM SABINE PASS TO TOLEDO BEND RESERVOIR.

A LARGE ALMOST SOLID MASS OF RAIN MIXED WITH SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
CONTINUED OVER EAST AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND EXTENDED INTO THE EXTREME
WESTERN PORTIONS OF LOUISIANA FROM CAMERON TO MANY AND MANSFIELD.

LARGE PATCHES OF RAIN MIXED WITH SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED INTO
THE COASTAL WATERS FROM FREEPORT TEXAS TO SABINE PASS.

THE RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING OVER EAST AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS WILL
SPREAD OVER MOST OF SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA THIS MORNING.
PERIODS OF VERY HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED.
Special weather statement, Mar 29, 3:17 AM CST, 11 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
310 AM CST WED MAR 29 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA
UNTIL 8AM CST...

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR TODAY THAT INCLUDES SOUTHWEST
AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA...

AT 305 AM CST...NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE SHOWN FROM
NEAR MANY TO THE LEESVILLE AND DERIDDER AREAS TO BETWEEN LAKE CHARLES AND
ORANGE TEXAS INTO THE COASTAL WATERS TO 25 MILES SOUTH OF SABINE PASS.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS...VERY HEAVY RAIN...
DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...AND POSSIBLY SOME SMALL HAIL OVER
VERNON...BEAUREGARD...CALCASIEU...AND CAMERON PARISHES DURING THE NEXT
HOUR.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.