Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 49, NWS Lake Charles, LA

April 14, 1996Vernon Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 14, 1996, 7:31 PM CDT for Vernon Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 59 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
Apr 14, 1996, 7:31 PM CDT (00:31 UTC)
Expired
Apr 14, 1996, 8:30 PM CDT
In force
59 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties

County Vernon Parish, LA

The radar

The Ft Polk radar (KPOE), 20 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:33 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 14, 8:20 PM CDTHail 1.75Simpson, 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 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 00:00Z on 1996-04-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1868 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 1996-04-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 64 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
1868 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-94 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
682 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
64 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
95 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
3.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KLCH 150031
SVRLCH
LAC115-150130-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
731 PM CDT SUN APR 14 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  830 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA
 
   ...VERNON PARISH
 
AT 730 PM CDT...NEXRAD DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
ALONG THE SABINE VERNON PARISH LINE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.
LARGE HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM.
 
 
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA.  REMEMBER
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE* WARNING.  REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO
RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Lake Charles, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 14, 7:23 PM CDT, 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 14, 7:23 PM CDT, 8 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS..SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
723 PM CDT SUN APR 14 1996

SVR ACTIVITY IN JASPER COUNTY TX AND JUST N OF VERNON PARISH LA...88-D
SHOWING VILS GTR THN 65. CAN INCRS POPS TNITE TO LIKELY FOR LFT AND
AEX. LINEAR SE MOVEMENT ON LINE WAS 18KTS. MARBLE SIZE HAIL COMMON
WITH THESE.
11

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 14, 2:22 PM CDT, 5 hours 9 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
220 PM CDT SUN APR 14 1996

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
DATE       ....PARISH LOCATION....

02140 PM    DEVILLE                  LA      .5 INCH HAIL
04/14/96   RAPIDES                          REPORTED BY RAPIDES 911

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 14, 7:39 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHRapides66 min
Apr 14, 8:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHRapides63 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Louisiana, 1996Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1996

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.