Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 23, NWS Lake Charles, LA

April 5, 1997Beauregard Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 5, 1997, 4:05 AM CST for Beauregard Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 55 min. 2 reports 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 5, 1997, 4:05 AM CST (10:05 UTC)
Expired: Apr 5, 1997, 5:00 AM CST
In force: 55 min
Issued by: NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Beauregard Parish, LA, Calcasieu Parish, LA

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 37 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:09 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 5, 4:15 AM CST	Thunderstorm Wind	Longville, LA
Apr 5, 4:30 AM CST	Thunderstorm Wind	Holmwood, 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Apr 5, 2:30 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 38 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: 1185 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -76 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 530 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 267 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 316 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.8
Supercell composite: 8.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KLCH 051007 RRA
SVRLCH
LAC011-019-051100-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
405 AM CST SAT APR 5 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 500 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA
 
   ...BEAUREGARD PARISH...CALCASIEU PARISH
 
AT 400 AM CST...NEXRAD DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS FROM DE RIDDER TO VINTON MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.
WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE
STORMS.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY 
RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

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 Apr 5, 2:45 AM CST, 1 hour 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 5, 2:45 AM CST, 1 hour 20 minutes before

SOUTHEAST TEXAS..SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
245 AM CST SAT APR 5 1997

S PORTION OF THE LINE OF TSTMS CURRENTLY PULSING...AND WITH
KLCH VWP SHOWING 65 KTS AT 2 KFT...SVR GUSTS A GOOD BET.

AS FAR AS FORECAST IS CONCERNED...MODELS ARE IN DECENT
AGREEMENT. BOTH SHOW FA IN RR QUAD OF UPPER LEVEL JET AROUND
12Z. RAIN CHC WILL END ACROSS SE TX SHORTLY AFTER SUNRISE AND
BY MID-MORNING FOR LA FA. TOOK A BLEND OF GUID TEMPS.

1

BPT 79/57/81 3(EARLY)00
LCH 77/55/80 6(EARLY)00  LFT 77/55/81 8(AM)00  AEX 77/52/80 8(AM)00

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 5, 3:15 AM CST, 50 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
315 AM CST SAT APR 05 1997

TIME(CST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0240 AM    10 NW JASPER              TX   WIND DAMAGE
04/05/97   JASPER                         TREES DOWN

Local storm report, Apr 5, 3:22 AM CST, 43 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
315 AM CST SAT APR 05 1997

TIME(CST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0240^ AM    10 NW JASPER              TX   WIND DAMAGE
04/05/97   JASPER                         TREES DOWN

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 5, 2:10 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	St. Mary	35 min
Apr 5, 3:01 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Calcasieu, Cameron	59 min
Apr 5, 3:01 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Beauregard, Vernon	59 min
Apr 5, 5:27 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Rapides	63 min
Apr 5, 6:38 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Lafayette, Saint Landry	52 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Louisiana, 1997 Every 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.