Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 1, NWS New Orleans, LA

February 15, 1990Saint Landry Parish, Louisiana

NWS New Orleans, LA issued this tornado warning at Feb 15, 1990, 11:49 AM CST for Saint Landry Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 16 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Feb 15, 1990, 11:49 AM CST (17:49 UTC)
Expired
Feb 15, 1990, 12:05 PM CST
In force
16 min
Issued by
NWS New Orleans, LA
Area
Whole counties

County Saint Landry 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 12:00Z, 5.8 hours before the alert went out and 126 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 1990-02-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1324 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 1990-02-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 132 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
1324 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-34 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
612 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
132 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
120 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.0
Supercell composite
4.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KNEW 151750
TORBTR
LAC077-097-151845-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BATON ROUGE LA
ISSUED BY NEW ORLEANS LA
1149 AM CST THU FEB 15 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1245 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING PARISHES...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL LOUISIANA
          ...POINTE COUPEE...ST.LANDRY
 
AT 1145 AM CST BATON ROUGE RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO ASSOCIATED WITH A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR POINT BARRE. STATE POLICE HAVE CONFIRMED THAT
A TORNADO HAS BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM. THE THUNDERSTORM
IS MOVING NORHTEAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

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, Feb 15, 9:35 AM CST, 2 hours 14 minutes before
LAZ006-009-151630-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BATON ROUGE LA
930 PM CST THU FEB 15 1990

...THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN AND HAIL MOVING INTO AND DEVELOPING
ACROSS AVOYELLES...CATAHOULA AND CONCORDIA PARISH...

RADAR SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS WEST OF MARKSVILLE TO FERRIDAY.  HAIL WAS
REPORTED IN THE THUNDERSTORMS WEST OF MARKSVILLE.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS ACROSS THE
MENTIONED PARISHES.   PERSONS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AND LISTEN TO NOAA
RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Feb 15, 11:09 AM CST, 40 minutes before
LAZ008-009-151800-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BATON ROUGE LA
1105 PM CST THU FEB 15 1990

...THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN AND HAIL DEVELOPING OVER EAST
CENTRAL LOUISIANA...

RADAR SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS IN ST LANDRY PARISH NEAR PORT BARRE EXTENDING
NORTHWEST ACROSS CLINTON INTO SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI.  THUNDERSTORMS WERE
MOVING NORTHWEST AT 40 MPH.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOPE THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON AND
MAY PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAIN...STRONG WINDS AND HAIL.

PERSONS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AND LISTEN TO NOAA  RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS
OR WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Feb 15, 11:11 AM CST, 38 minutes before
LAZ008-009-151800-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BATON ROUGE LA
1105 PM CST THU FEB 15 1990

...THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN AND HAIL DEVELOPING OVER EAST
CENTRAL LOUISIANA...

RADAR SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS IN ST LANDRY PARISH NEAR PORT BARRE EXTENDING
NORTHWEST ACROSS CLINTON INTO SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI.  THUNDERSTORMS WERE
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOPE THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON AND
MAY PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAIN...STRONG WINDS AND HAIL.

PERSONS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AND LISTEN TO NOAA  RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS
OR WARNINGS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS New Orleans, LA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 15, 11:18 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXSaint Landry57 min
Feb 15, 11:49 AM CSTTornado WarningLIXPointe Coupee51 min
Feb 15, 12:15 PM CSTTornado WarningLIXWest Feliciana45 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.