Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 80, NWS Lake Charles, LA

July 4, 1990Jefferson County, Orange County, Texas

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 4, 1990, 6:45 PM CDT for Jefferson County, Orange County, Texas. It was in force for 45 min. 2 reports 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
Jul 4, 1990, 6:45 PM CDT (23:45 UTC)
Expired
Jul 4, 1990, 7:30 PM CDT
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Jefferson County, TX, Orange County, TX

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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 4, 6:55 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 0Orange, TX
Jul 4, 7:05 PM CDTHail 1.75Jefferson, TX

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, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 81 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 12:00Z on 1990-07-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1314 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 12:00Z on 1990-07-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -4 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1314 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-55 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
894 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-4 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
15 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBPT 042345
SVRBPT
TXC245-361-050030-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORT ARTHUR TX
645 PM CDT WED JUL 4 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PORT ARTHUR HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  730 PM CDT
FOR PERSONS IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES
 
IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
 
   ...JEFFERSON COUNTY...ORANGE COUNTY
 
 
 
 
AT 643 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM JUST NORTH
OF BRIDGE CITY MOVING TO THE WEST AT 15 MPH. THIS STORM WAS BUILDING
RAPIDLY AND WILL PRODUCE WINDS TO 70 MPH AND LARGE DAMAGING HAIL.
 
THE STORM WAS MOVING TOWARD SOUTH BEAUMONT AND MID-JEFFERSON COUNTY.
 
WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING..7.PEOPLE SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A
STRONG BUILDING.  DO NOT STAND BY WINDOWS.  DON'T USE TELEPHONES
OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY UNTIL THE STORM
HAS PASSED.  MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT DRIVE INTO LOW WATER CROSSINGS.
 
DCG
 
NNNN

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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, Jul 4, 4:41 PM CDT, 2 hours 4 minutes before
LAZ007-008-011-012-042240-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
440 PM CDT WED JUL 4 1990

...SPECIAL MARINE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM SABINE PASS TO WHITE LAKE UNTIL
545 PM...

AT 425 PM...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN...WERE
OCCURING ALONG THE COAST FROM 20 MILES NORTHWEST THROUGH 25 MILES WEST
OF WHITE LAKE.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS...DANGEROUS CLOUD TO
GROUND LIGHTNING...VERY HEAVY RAIN AND POSSIBLY SOME SMALL HAIL.

AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM...WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN...WAS SHOWN JUST WEST OF
ATCHAFALAYA BAY.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE PART OF AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
WHICH WERE LOCATED nFROM THE BATON ROUGE AND MORGAN CITY AREAS TO THE
COAST FROM ATCHAFALAYA BAY TO JUST EAST OF CAMERON.  THESE THUNDERSTORMS
EXTENDED OVER THE GULF TO 100 MILES OFFSHORE FROM VERMILION BAY TO
CAMERON.
Special weather statement, Jul 4, 5:48 PM CDT, 57 minutes before
LAZ007-008-011-012-042345-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
545 PM CDT WED JUL 4 1990

AT 528 PM...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE LOCATED
FROM THE SULPHER AND JENNINGS AREAS TO NEAR CAMERON.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS...DANGEROUS CLOUD TO
GROUND LIGHTNING...VERY HEAVY RAIN AND POSSIBLY SOME SMALL HAIL AS THEY
MOVE WEST AT 25 MPH.

OTHER THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE SHOWN OVER THE GULF...50
MILES SOUTHEAST OF CAMERON AND 60 TO 80 MILES SOUTH OF SABINE PASS TEXAS.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MIXED IN AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
WHICH WERE LOCATED FROM THE MORGAN CITY AND ATCHAFALAYA BAY AREAS TO
WHITE LAKE TO NEAR LAKE CHARLES AND CAMERON.  THESE THUNDERSTORMS
EXTENDED OVER THE GULF TO 70 TO 100 MILES OFFSHORE FROM WHITE LAKE TO
CAMERON.
Special weather statement, Jul 4, 6:18 PM CDT, 27 minutes before
TXZ046-048-041400-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT ...CORRECTED FOR TIME
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORT ARTHUR TX
603 PM CDT WED JUL 4 1990

AT 600 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A THUNDERSTORM JUST EAST OF
ORANGE MOVING TO THE WEST AT 15 MPH. THIS STORM WAS DISSIPATING
AND WILL PRODUCE WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH IN THE ORANGE AND VIDOR AREAS
BETWEEN 610 PM AND 620 PM.

OTHER THUNDESTORMS EXTENDED ALONG THE SABINBE RIVER FROM NEAR NEWTON
TO EAST OF SABINE PASS. THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED INTO THE GULF FROM
EQAST OF SABINE PASS TO 100 MILES SOUTH OF HIGH ISLAND. ALL
THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING WEST AT 15 MPH AND WILL PRODUCE BRIEF
HEAVY RAINFALL AND GUSTY WINDS AS WELL AS FREQUENT LIGHTNING.

ALL THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD DISSIPATE BY 900 PM THIS EVENING.

DCG

NNN

NNNN

The office that day

Everything else NWS Lake Charles, LA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 3, 7:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHHardin53 min
Jul 3, 7:59 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHTyler31 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 1990Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1990

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.