Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 18, NWS Lake Charles, LA

May 27, 1990Lafayette Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this tornado warning at May 27, 1990, 5:27 PM CDT for Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 48 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 27, 1990, 5:27 PM CDT (22:27 UTC)
Expired
May 27, 1990, 6:15 PM CDT
In force
48 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 27, 5:42 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 0Lafayette, 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, 10.5 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 12:00Z on 1990-05-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2818 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 1990-05-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 80 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
2818 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
563 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
80 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
141 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.9
Supercell composite
4.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KLCH 272228 RRA
TORLCH
LAC055-272315-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
527 PM CDT SUN MAY 27 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  615 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA
 
   ...LAFAYETTE PARISH
 
AT 520 PM CDT THE LAFAYETTE PARISH EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER
REPORTED A POSSIBLE TONADO NEAR I-49 IN LAFAYETTE. RADAR SHOWED
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN THIS AREA MOVING SOUTHEAST 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.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 27, 3:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHRapides44 min
May 27, 5:07 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHCalcasieu53 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Louisiana, 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.