Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1995

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 161, NWS Lake Charles, LA

May 18, 1995Iberia Parish, Saint Martin Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 18, 1995, 9:08 PM CDT for Iberia Parish, Saint Martin Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 67 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 18, 1995, 9:08 PM CDT (02:08 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 1995, 10:15 PM CDT
In force
67 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Iberia Parish, LA, Saint Martin Parish, LA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 18, 9:15 PM CDTTornado F1New Iberia, LAA tornado touched down near Loreauville Road heavily damaging a home and a mobile home. Tornado length and path width were estimated. Trees, tree limbs, and power lines were reported downed by thunderstorm wind gusts in scattered locations around New Iberia.

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, 2.1 hours before the alert went out and 146 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 1995-05-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1651 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 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 1995-05-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 44 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 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
1651 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
513 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
44 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
99 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.7
Supercell composite
4.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KLCH 190214 COR
SVRLCH
LAC045-099-190315-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING...DELETE TORNADO WATCH PORTION OF WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
908 PM CDT THU MAY 18 1995

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1015 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA

   ...IBERIA PARISH...UPPER ST MARTIN PARISH

AT 905 PM RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ON THE ST MARTIN AND
IBERIA PARISHES 4 MILES NORTHWEST OF NEW IBERIA. THIS STORM
PRODUCED WIND DAMAGE OVER SOUTHERN LAFAYETTE PARISH EARLIER.

MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 35 MPH.
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL....AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. FOR YOUR PROTECTION
MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.
HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO DON`T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER
COVERS THE ROAD.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 18, 10:11 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHSaint Martin64 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Louisiana, 1995Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1995

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.