Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 16, NWS New Orleans, LA

April 15, 1996Saint Tammany Parish, Louisiana

NWS New Orleans, LA issued this tornado warning at Apr 15, 1996, 1:37 AM CDT for Saint Tammany Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 23 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 15, 1996, 1:37 AM CDT (06:37 UTC)
Expired
Apr 15, 1996, 2:00 AM CDT
In force
23 min
Issued by
NWS New Orleans, LA
Area
Whole counties

County Saint Tammany Parish, LA

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 00:00Z, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 30 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 00:00Z on 1996-04-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2003 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 00:00Z on 1996-04-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 218 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
2003 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
554 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
218 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
297 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.5
Supercell composite
14.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KNEW 150637
TORNEW
LAC103-150700-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
137 AM CDT MON APR 15 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW ORLEANS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  200 AM CDT
FOR RESIDENTS IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA
 
   ...SOUTHEASTERN ST. TAMMANY PARISH
 
AT 135 AM CDT...ST TAMMANY SHERIFFS OFFICE REPORTED A TORNADO TOUCHDOWN
IN SLIDELL NEAR THE PINK PANTHER TRAILER PARK ON HIGHWAY 190 AT 120 AM.
THE THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 35 TO 40 MILES AN HOUR. RESIDENTS
NEAR THIS AREA SHOULD TAKE COVER NOW.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.
 
 
 
&

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, Apr 15, 1:00 AM CDT, 37 minutes before
LAZ050-038-150630-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
1259 AM CDT MON APR 15 1996

...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR TANGIPAHOA PARISH HAS BEEN
CANCELLED...

AT 1255 AM CDT...THE THUNDERSTORM THAT PROMPTED THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WARNING FOR SOUTHERN TANGIPAHOA PARISH HAS WEAKENED AND MOVED OUT OF THE
AREA. THE SHERIFFS OFFICE REPORTED HAIL OF UNSPECIFIED SIZE EAST OF
PONCHATOULA AROUND 1230 AM. A TORNADO WA2TCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 200
AM AND ADDITIONAL STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY MOVE INTO THE
NORTH SHORE AREA OF LAKES MAUREPAS AND PONTCHARTRAIN THROUGH 200 AM.

&

The office that day

Everything else NWS New Orleans, LA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 14, 7:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXTangipahoa58 min
Apr 14, 7:43 PM CDTTornado WarningLIXTangipahoa32 min
Apr 14, 7:56 PM CDTTornado WarningLIXSaint Tammany34 min
Apr 14, 8:32 PM CDTTornado WarningLIXSaint Tammany28 min
Apr 14, 9:01 PM CDTTornado WarningLIXSaint Tammany44 min
Apr 14, 11:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXSaint Tammany58 min
Apr 15, 12:28 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXTangipahoa47 min
Apr 15, 12:51 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXAscension, Livingston69 min
Apr 15, 2:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXPlaquemines, Saint Bernard49 min
Apr 15, 2:34 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXJefferson, Orleans41 min
Apr 15, 2:34 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXSaint Charles41 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Louisiana, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.