Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 3, NWS Lake Charles, LA
NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this tornado warning at Apr 12, 1996, 9:14 PM CDT for Newton County, Texas. It was in force for 46 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 12, 1996, 9:14 PM CDT (02:14 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 12, 1996, 10:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 46 min
- Issued by
- NWS Lake Charles, LA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Newton County, TX
The radar
The Ft Polk radar (KPOE), 84 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:17 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 12, 9:30 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Newton, TX |
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, 2.2 hours before the alert went out and 91 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 129 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -193 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 819 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 180 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 222 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KLCH 130215 TORLCH TXC351-130300- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 914 PM CDT FRI APR 12 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS ...NEWTON COUNTY AT 910 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO JUST SOUTHWEST OF NEWTON. THIS STORM WILL PASS THROUGH NEWTON AROUND 915 PM...AND REACH BURKEVILLE BY 945 PM. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION. ACT QUICKLY. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. AVOID WINDOWS. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
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.
NWS Lake Charles, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Apr 12, 2:11 PM CDT, 7 hours 3 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 12, 2:11 PM CDT, 7 hours 3 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS..SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 230 PM CDT FRI APR 12 1996 CURRENT WV LOOP AND VIS SAT IMAGERY SHOW LINE OF TOWERING CU IN CEN TEXAS AHEAD OF APPROACHING SHRT WV. AS THIS WV APPROACHES WILL ENCOUNTER UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER SE TX AND W LA. KEY TO FORECAST IS AN ACCURATE POSTION OF JET MAX IN SUBTROPICAL JET. HAVE DECIDED TO GO WITH ETA SOLN WHICH HAS SW LA IN FRONT LEFT REGION OF JET MAX @ 12 HRS. THEREFORE EVEN THOUGH BEST LIFT AND RR QUAD OF POLAR JET MAX OVER MISSOURI WILL REMAIN NORTH OF OUR FA THINK REGION WILL HAVE CHANCE FOR SVR BASED ON DIVERGENCE FROM JET MAX CROSSING NW GULF. AFT 1ST PERIOD...WINDS WILL BECOME SW CUTTING OFF GOOD MOISTURE FLOW FOR NEXT DEVELOPING SYSTEM. TEMPS WILL BE WARM TOMORROW AS SKIES BECOME PC AND DRIER AIR IS ADVECTED IN. 01 BPT 65/85/63/85 4000 LCH 65/83/63/83 5000 LFT 63/81/63/82 5200 AEX 62/81/63/83 5000 V
In the hours before
Local storm report, Apr 12, 8:23 PM CDT, 51 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 820 PM CDT FRI APR 12 1996 TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS... DATE ....PARISH LOCATION.... 620 PM BEAUMONT TX 1.75 INCH HAIL 04/12/96 JEFFERSON 730 PM DEQUINCY LA 1.75 INCH HAIL 04/12/96 CALCASIEU 750 PM SINGER LA 1.75 INCH HAIL 04/12/96 BEAUREGARD
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes 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.