Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 1993

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Lake Charles, LA

March 30, 1993Rapides Parish, Vernon Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this tornado warning at Mar 30, 1993, 6:50 PM CST for Rapides Parish, Vernon Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 40 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 30, 1993, 6:50 PM CST (00:50 UTC)
Expired
Mar 30, 1993, 7:30 PM CST
In force
40 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Rapides Parish, LA, Vernon Parish, LA

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 119 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 1993-03-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1564 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 1993-03-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 14 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
1564 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-52 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
559 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
14 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-15 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.2
Supercell composite
-1.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KLCH 310054
TORLCH
LAC079-115-310130-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
650 PM CST TUE MAR 30 1993
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  730 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONSS...
 
IN CENTRAL LOUISIANA
 
   ...RAPIDES PARISH
 
IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA
 
   ...SOUTHEASTERN VERNON PARISH
 
AT 650 PM CST...A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS DETECTED BY RADAR JUST NORTH OF
PITKIN IN SOUTHEAST VERNON PARISH. THIS STORM IS MOVING EAST AT 40 MILES
AN HOUR AND WILL MOVE INTO RAPIDES PARISH IN THE NEXT 15 MINUTES.
 
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.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT..L.SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

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, Mar 30, 3:36 PM CST, 3 hours 14 minutes before
LAZ005>009-011>014-MSZ010-TXZ028-032-033-045>049-302235-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
335 PM CST TUE MAR 30 1993

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM THIS TUESDAY EVENING FOR ALL
   OF SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA...

AT 325 PM...A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WAS
SHOWN 15 MILES EITHER SIDE OF THE SOUTHERN MOST END OF TOLEDO BEND
RESERVIOR.

WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING FROM JENA TO
TOLDEO BEND RESERVIOR AND THEN TO BETWEEN BATON ROUGE AND KOUNTZE TEXAS.

MOVEMENT WAS 35 MILES AN HOUR.
Special weather statement, Mar 30, 3:40 PM CST, 3 hours 10 minutes before
LAZ005>009-011>014-MSZ010-TXZ028-032-033-045>049-302235-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY...CORRECTION...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
335 PM CST TUE MAR 30 1993

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM THIS TUESDAY EVENING FOR ALL
   OF SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA...

AT 325 PM...A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WAS
SHOWN 15 MILES EITHER SIDE OF THE SOUTHERN MOST END OF TOLEDO BEND
RESERVIOR.

WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING FROM JENA TO
TOLDEO BEND RESERVIOR AND THEN TO BETWEEN BATON ROUGE AND KOUNTZE TEXAS.

MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR.
Special weather statement, Mar 30, 3:50 PM CST, 3 hours before
TXZ033-046-048-302245-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORT ARTHUR TX
350 PM CST TUE MAR 30 1993

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM FOR THE EAST TEXAS LAKES
AREA AND EXTREME SOUTHEAST TEXAS...

...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR SABINE COUNTY EXPIRED AT 330 PM..

AT 350 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A BAND OF SCATTERED
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM THE TOLEDO BEND RESERVOIR TO
NEAR JASPER AND SOUTH OF DAM B.  A SECOND BAND EXTENDED FROM ALTO TO
MOUNT ENTERPRISE AND WAS MOVING INTO NORTHWEST NACOGDOCHES COUNTY.

THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE NOTED NORTHEAST OF JASPER AND OVER THE
CENTRAL SECTIONS OF TOLEDO BEND.  MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN
HOUR.

NO SEVERE WEATHER HAS BEEN REPORTED SO FAR IN THESE AREAS...HOWEVER SOME
OF THE STORMS COULD PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...HEAVY RAIN...
DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...AND POSSIBILITY TORNADOES.  PERSONS IN EAST ATND
SOUTHEAST TEXAS SHOULD BE ALERT TO THE LATEST WEATHER DETAILS AND BE
PREPARED TO MOVE TO SHELTER IF SEVERE WEATHER THREATENS.

NNNN
Special weather statement, Mar 30, 4:35 PM CST, 2 hours 15 minutes before
TXZ-048-302330-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORT ARTHUR TX
435 PM CST TUE MAR 30 1993

...THE TORNADO WATCH FOR JEFFERSON AND ORANGE COUNTIES HAS BEEN
CANCELLED...

AT 430 PM...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
THAT PROMPTED THE TORNADO WATCH WERE ALL WELL NORTH OF THE GOLDEN
TRIANGLE.  ONE LINE WAS NOTED FROM NEWTON TO THE TOLEDO BEND RESERVOIR
AND INTO LOUISIANA.  MOVEMENT WAS EAST-NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR.

PEA-SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED IN JASPER AT 345 PM...OTHERWISE NO REPORTS OF
SEVERE WEATHER WERE RECEIVED FROM THE EAST TEXAS LAKES AREA OR SOUTHEAST
TEXAS.

A FEW ISOLATED SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE BEFORE SUNSET IN THE GOLDEN
TRIAN6GLE...THEN SKIES WILL BEGIN TO CLEAR AS A PACIFIC COLD FRONT MOVES
THROUGH SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

&
NNNN
Special weather statement, Mar 30, 5:03 PM CST, 1 hour 47 minutes before
TXZ046-048-310000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORT ARTHUR TX
503 PM CST TUE MAR 30 1993

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM FOR THE COUNTIES OF
NACOGDOCHES...ANGELINA...SAN AUGUSTINE...SABINE...NEWTON...JASPER...
TYLER...AND HARDIN...

AT 500 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A COUPLE OF LINES OF
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS EAST TEXAS.  ONE LINE
EXTENDED FROM LEESVILLE LOUISIANA TO NEWTON...WARREN...AND LIBERTY.
A SECOND LINE EXTENDED FROM SHREVEPORT TO CENTER...EAST OF
NACOGDOCHES...TO NORTHEAST OF LUFKIN.   MOVEMENT WAS EAST-NORTHEAST AT
35 MILES AN HOUR.

THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE NOTED JUST SOUTHEAST OF NACOGDOCHES AND
EAST OF BURKEVILLE.

SOME OF THE STORMS COULD PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...
LARGE HAIL...AND POSSIBLY TORNADOES.  RESIDENTS OF THE EAST TEXAS LAKES
AREA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS SHOULD BE READY TO MOVE QUICKLY TO
SHELTER IF SEVERE WEATHER THREATENS.

NNNN
Local storm report, Mar 30, 6:31 PM CST, 19 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
630 PM CST TUE MAR 30 1993

TIME                     LOCATION                   REPORT

600 PM                  VERNON PARISH              NICKEL SIZE HAIL
                                                   REPORTED BY STATE
                                                   POLICE 3 S OF
                                                   LEESVILLE.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 30, 6:14 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHVernon31 min
Mar 30, 6:17 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHRapides58 min
Mar 30, 8:42 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHGrant63 min
Mar 30, 9:41 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHLaSalle64 min
Mar 30, 10:04 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHRapides56 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Louisiana, 1993Every tornado warning in 1993Tornadoes in 1993

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.