Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 95, NWS Lake Charles, LA

August 30, 1990Calcasieu Parish, Cameron Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 30, 1990, 11:00 PM CDT for Calcasieu Parish, Cameron Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 60 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
Aug 30, 1990, 11:00 PM CDT (04:00 UTC)
Expired
Aug 31, 1990, 12:00 AM CDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Calcasieu Parish, LA, Cameron 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 30, 11:52 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 0Cameron, LA
Aug 30, 11:55 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 0Cameron, 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 00:00Z, 4.0 hours before the alert went out and 12 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 1990-08-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 4254 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 1990-08-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 86 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
4254 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1289 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
86 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
179 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.8
Supercell composite
14.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KLCH 310406
SVRLCH
LAC019-023-310500-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
1100 PM CDT THU AUG 30 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA
 
   ...EASTERN CALCASIEU PARISH...CAMERON PARISH
 
AT 1100 PM THE LAKE CHARLES WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A BAND OF
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE LAKE CHARLES AREA TO JUST
WEST OF WHITE LAKE.
 
THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING SOUTH AT 25 MILES AN HOUR.
 
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER FROM THE WEATHER IN A
STRONG BUILDING.  DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...
AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.
STAY INSIDE AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

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, Aug 30, 7:56 PM CDT, 3 hours 4 minutes before
LAZ005-006-007-008-011-012-310145

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
750 PM CDT THU AUG 30 1990

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM FOR ALL OF
CENTRAL..SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA...

AT 725 PM...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE SHOWN FROM
NEAR JENNINGS TO LAFAYETTE.  THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING THROUGH
SOUTHERN ACADIA AND LAFAYETTE PARISHES AND INTO VERMILION PARISH DURING
THE NEXT HOUR.

STRONG GUSTY WINDS..DANGEROUS LIGHTNING..AND SMALL HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED
WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS IN ACADIA..LAFAYETTE..AND VERMILION PARISHES
AS THEY MOVE SOUTH AT 20 MPH.

OTHERWISE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WERE SHOWN FROM JUST SOUTH OF MANY TO
20 MILES NORTH OF LAFAYETTE TO JUST SOUTH OF LAFAYETTE AND TO NEAR
DE QUINCY.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 30, 7:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAcadia, Lafayette, Vermilion57 min
Aug 30, 8:17 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHLafayette, Vermilion43 min
Aug 30, 9:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHCameron, Vermilion55 min
Aug 31, 12:02 AM CDTTornado WarningLCHCameron43 min
Aug 31, 3:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHCalcasieu57 min
Aug 31, 3:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHCalcasieu, Cameron70 min
Aug 31, 3:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHCalcasieu, Cameron65 min
Aug 31, 3:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHCameron53 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Louisiana, 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.