Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 6, NWS New Orleans, LA

February 19, 1996Saint Helena Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana; Amite County, Pike County, Mississippi

NWS New Orleans, LA issued this tornado warning at Feb 19, 1996, 4:54 PM CST for Saint Helena Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana; Amite County, Pike County, Mississippi. It was in force for 66 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
Feb 19, 1996, 4:54 PM CST (22:54 UTC)
Expired
Feb 19, 1996, 6:00 PM CST
In force
66 min
Issued by
NWS New Orleans, LA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Saint Helena Parish, LA, Tangipahoa Parish, LA, Amite County, MS, Pike County, MS

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Feb 19, 5:05 PM CSTHail 1.75Gillsburg, MS

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

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 115 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 12:00Z on 1996-02-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 24 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 12:00Z on 1996-02-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 218 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
24 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-18 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
748 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
218 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
259 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KNEW 192255
TORNEW
LAC091-105-MSC005-113-200000-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
454 PM CST MON FEB 19 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW ORLEANS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  600 PM CST
FOR RESIDENTS IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA
 
   ...NORTHERN ST. HELENA PARISH...NORTHERN TANGIPAHOA PARISH
 
 
IN SOUTH MISSISSIPPI
 
   ...SOUTHERN AMITE COUNTY...SOUTHWESTERN PIKE COUNTY
 
AT 455 PM CST DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A LARGE CLUSTER OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS IN AMITE COUNTY MISSISSIPPI NEAR LIBERTY MOVING SOUTHEAST
EAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. AMITE SHERIFFS OFFICE IN LIBERTY REPORTED
MARBLE SIZE HAIL IN THE LAST 10 MINUTES IN LIBERTY.
 
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.
 
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.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 19, 3:00 PM CST, 1 hour 54 minutes before
LAZ006-014-021-022028-029-032-033-043-044-052-192300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS/BATON ROUGE
400 PM CST MON FEB 19 1996

...THE TORNADO WATCH IS CANCELLED FOR THE FOLLOWING PARISHES IN
   NORTHEAST AND SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA...UNION...QUACHITA...CALDWELL...
   LASALLE...AVOYELLES...EVANGELENE...ST LANDRY...ACADIA...LAFAYETTE
   ...VERNON...

THE THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES CONTINUES OVER
EAST CENTpRAL AND SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA...CENTRAL AND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI
UNTIL 7 PM.
Special weather statement, Feb 19, 4:00 PM CST, 54 minutes before
LAZ006-014-021-022028-029-032-033-043-044-052-192300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS/BATON ROUGE
400 PM CST MON FEB 19 1996

...THE TORNADO WATCH IS CANCELLED FOR THE FOLLOWING PARISHES IN
   NORTHEAST AND SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA...UNION...QUACHITA...CALDWELL...
   LASALLE...AVOYELLES...EVANGELENE...ST LANDRY...ACADIA...LAFAYETTE
   ...VERNON...

THE THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES CONTINUES OVER
EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA...CENTRAL AND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI
UNTIL 7 PM.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 19, 12:26 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXLivingston, Saint Helena, Tangipahoa64 min
Feb 19, 12:56 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXWashington64 min
Feb 19, 1:04 PM CSTTornado WarningLIXWashington56 min
Feb 19, 2:49 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXSaint Tammany26 min
Feb 19, 3:18 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXSaint Tammany42 min
Feb 19, 5:55 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXTangipahoa65 min
Feb 19, 2:15 PM CSTTornado WarningLIXPearl River30 min
Feb 19, 3:58 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXHancock, Harrison62 min
Feb 19, 4:03 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLIXAmite, Pike57 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Louisiana, 1996Tornado Warnings in Mississippi, 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.