Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 17, NWS Lake Charles, LA

March 30, 1997St. Mary Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 30, 1997, 8:39 AM CST for St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. 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
Mar 30, 1997, 8:39 AM CST (14:39 UTC)
Expired
Mar 30, 1997, 9:45 AM CST
In force
66 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties

County St. Mary Parish, LA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 30, 9:20 AM CSTHail 0.75Charenton, 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 12:00Z, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 175 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 12:00Z on 1997-03-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1783 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 12:00Z on 1997-03-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 22 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1783 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-28 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
596 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
22 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
40 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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 Mar 30, 2:45 AM CST, 5 hours 54 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 30, 2:45 AM CST, 5 hours 54 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS..SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
244 AM CST SUN MAR 30 1997

AT 07Z COLD FRONT EXTENDED FROM NEAR A STL-MLC-DFW LINE. AN OUT FLOW
BOUNDARY OUT AHD OF THE FRONT EXTENDED FROM NEAR LFK TO SAT. THE
OUTFLOW BOUNDARY WILL MAKE ITS WAY THROUGH THE FA EARLY THIS AM.
THE COLD FRONT WILL BE NEAR A MLU-AEX-CLL LINE BY 12Z AND NEAR A
BTR-LCH LINE BY 18Z AND OUT OF THE FA BY 20Z. HAVE SEVERAL CONCERNS
ABOUT THE HIGH POPS FOR TODAY. MOISTURE REMAINS VERY SHALLOW(LOWEST
150 MB)...TEMPERATURES WARMING ALOFT...AND A FAIRLY DECENT CAP.
WILL GO AHD AND INCLUDE CHC POPS FOR TODAY FOR THE ENTIRE FA
AND MENTION SVR SINCE LI VALUES ARE -6 TO -8 AND THE CAPE IS
IN EXCESS OF 2500.

LUKS LIKE WE MIGHT KEEP SOME HIGH CLOUDS OVHD AFTER FROPA
AS SUBTROP JET REMAINS IN THE VCNTY.

WL COMPROMISE BETWEEN NGM AND AVN MOS NUMBERS.
<
10
LCH 75/51/69 400
LFT 78/49/69 400
AEX 74/47/68 400b
BPT 76/51/70 400 (TODAY-PATCHY AM BR...POPS MAINLY THIS AM)

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Louisiana, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997

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.