Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Lake Charles, LA

May 12, 1990Sabine County, San Augustine County, Texas

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this tornado warning at May 12, 1990, 8:06 AM CDT for Sabine County, San Augustine County, Texas. It was in force for 69 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
May 12, 1990, 8:06 AM CDT (13:06 UTC)
Expired
May 12, 1990, 9:15 AM CDT
In force
69 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Sabine County, TX, San Augustine 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
May 12, 8:30 AM CDTTornado F1San Augustine, TX
May 12, 8:52 AM CDTHail 1.75Sabine, 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, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 159 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 1990-05-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1655 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 1990-05-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 280 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1655 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
555 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
280 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
430 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.6
Supercell composite
16.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBPT 121306
TORBPT
TXC403-405-121415-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORT ARTHUR TX
806 AM CDT SAT MAY 12 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PORT ARTHUR HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  915 AM CDT
FOR PERSONS IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES
 
IN NORTHEAST TEXAS
 
   ...SABINE COUNTY...SAN AUGUSTINE COUNTY
 
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A HISTORY OF TORNADOES AND DAMAGING WINDS
WAS LOCATED NEAR SAN AUGUSTINE MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. THE PATH OF THIS
STORM WILL IT ACROSS SABINE COUNTY.
 
BOATERS ON TOLEDO BEND SHOULD PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE WEATHER.  IF
THREATENING CONDITIONS ARE SIGHTED SEEK SAFE HARBOR.
 
 
NNNN

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, May 12, 3:37 AM CDT, 4 hours 29 minutes before
LAZ005-006-007-008-011-012-120940-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
335 AM CDT SAT MAY 12 1990

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 AM CDT THAT
INCLUDES VERNON PARISH IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND GRANT...LA SALLE
...AND RAPIDES PARISHES IN CENTRAL LOUISIANA...

AT 325 AM...LARGE PATCHES OF RAIN MIXED WITH SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
...SOME WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN...EXTENDED FROM LUFKIN TEXAS...AND TOLEDO
BEND RESERVOIR ACROSS MUCH OF EAST TEXAS TO BETWEEN BEAUMONT AND CONROE.

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND SMALL PATCHES OF RAIN WERE SHOWN FROM NEAR LEESVILLE
...ALEXANDRIA...AND NATCHEZ MISSISSIPPI TO THE JENNINGS...SULPHUR...AND
ORANGE TEXAS AREAS.

ISOLATED SHOWERS AND SMALL PATCHES OF RAIN CONTINUED IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
BETWEEN HOUSTON AND BEAUMONT AND OVER GALVESTON BAY.
Special weather statement, May 12, 4:45 AM CDT, 3 hours 21 minutes before
LAZ005-006-007-008-011-012-121045-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
435 AM CDT SAT MAY 12 1990

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 AM CDT THAT
INCLUDES VERNON PARISH IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND GRANT...LA SALLE
...AND RAPIDES PARISHES IN CENTRAL LOUISIANA...

AT 430 AM SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED OVER SOUTHEAST
TEXAS AND WEST CENTRAL LOUISIANA. THEEY WERE GENEaRALLY WEST OF A WINNFIELD
LOUISIANA...BEAUMONT TEXAS LINE.

MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR.
Special weather statement, May 12, 5:45 AM CDT, 2 hours 21 minutes before
LAZ005-006-007-008-011-012-121145-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
545 AM CDT SAT MAY 12 1990

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 AM CDT THAT
INCLUDES VERNON PARISH IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND GRANT...LA SALLE
...AND RAPIDES PARISHES IN CENTRAL LOUISIANA...

AT 530 AM SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH VERY HEAVY
RAIN...CONTINUED ACROSS CENTRAL LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS. THEY
WERE GENERALLY WEST OF AN ALEXANDRIA TO BEAUMONT LINE.

THE HEAVIEST RAIN WAS ABOUT 10 MILES NORTH OF ALEXANDRIA AND JUST
EAST OF MANY.

MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR.
Special weather statement, May 12, 6:40 AM CDT, 1 hour 26 minutes before
LAZ005-006-007-008-011-012-121245-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
640 AM CDT SAT MAY 12 1990

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 AM CDT THAT
INCLUDES VERNON PARISH IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND GRANT...LA SALLE
...AND RAPIDES PARISHES IN CENTRAL LOUISIANA...

AT 630 AM SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH VERY HEAVY
RAIN...CONTINUED ACROSS CENTRAL LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS. THEY
WERE GENERALLY WEST OF AN ALEXANDRIA TO PORT ARTHUR LINE.

THE HEAVIEST RAIN WAS ABOUT 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF ALEXANDRIA.

MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR.
Special weather statement, May 12, 7:50 AM CDT, 16 minutes before
LAZ005-006-007-008-011-012-121345-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
745 AM CDT SAT MAY 12 1990

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 AM CDT THAT
INCLUDES VERNON PARISH IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND GRANT...LA SALLE
...AND RAPIDES PARISHES IN CENTRAL LOUISIANA...

AT 735 AM SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH VERY HEAVY
RAIN...CONTINUED ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS. THE AREA WAS GENERALLY WEST
OF KIRBYVILLE TO LONGVIEW.  THE HEAVIEST RAIN WAS BETWEEN LUGKIN AND
SAN AUGUSTINE.

MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 12, 6:19 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHNacogdoches56 min
May 12, 7:15 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHNacogdoches45 min
May 12, 7:38 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAngelina, Nacogdoches52 min
May 12, 6:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHNacogdoches44 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1990Every tornado warning in 1990Tornadoes 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.