Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Lake Charles, LA

April 12, 1996Beauregard Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this tornado warning at Apr 12, 1996, 9:29 PM CDT for Beauregard Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 61 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, 9:29 PM CDT (02:29 UTC)
Expired: Apr 12, 1996, 10:30 PM CDT
In force: 61 min
Issued by: NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area: Whole counties

County Beauregard Parish, LA

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Apr 12, 10:00 PM CDT	Tornado F0	De Ridder, 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, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 60 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KLCH 130230 RRA
TORLCH
LAC011-130330-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
929 PM CDT FRI APR 12 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1030 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA
 
   ...BEAUREGARD PARISH
 
AT 925 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 5 MILES NORTH OF
MERRYVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH. THE STORM WILL REACH THE DERIDDER
AREA BETWEEN 945 AND 10 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
F LOOR 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 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 12, 2:11 PM CDT, 7 hours 18 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, 1 hour 6 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

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 12, 7:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Calcasieu	48 min
Apr 12, 7:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Beauregard	48 min
Apr 12, 8:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Allen	36 min
Apr 12, 9:08 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Evangeline	67 min
Apr 13, 12:13 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Lafayette	32 min
Apr 13, 1:19 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Lafayette	26 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Louisiana, 1996 Every tornado warning in 1996 Tornadoes 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.