Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 62, NWS Lake Charles, LA
NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 28, 1997, 4:31 PM CDT for Cameron Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 59 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
- May 28, 1997, 4:31 PM CDT (21:31 UTC)
- Expired
- May 28, 1997, 5:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 59 min
- Issued by
- NWS Lake Charles, LA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Cameron Parish, LA
The radar
The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 31 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:32 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 4:35 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Creole, LA | A small tornado touched down in the bayous near Little Chenier, which is a few miles northeast of Creole. No injuries or damages were reported. |
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, 9.5 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 418 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -230 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1363 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 66 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 699 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 723 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 3.9
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
532 WUUS1 KLCH 282132 RRA SVRLCH LAC023-282230- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 431 PM CDT WED MAY 28 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 530 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA ...EASTERN CAMERON PARISH AT 433PM DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM SOUTH OF GRAND LAKE MOVING NORTHWEST AT 10 MPH. LACASSINE WILDLIFE REFUGE AND GRAND LAKE ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. 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 DONT 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 May 28, 3:24 PM CDT, 1 hour 7 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 28, 3:24 PM CDT, 1 hour 7 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS..SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA...RETRANSMITTED FOR NEW ORLEANS 314 PM CDT WED MAY 28 1997 BUSY...WL BE BRIEF. HIGH CAPES AND OUTFLOW BNDRYS SETTING OF TSTMS WITH FUNNEL CLOUDS/WATER SPOUTS OVR SRN ZNS. ACTIVITY CONTS TNITE WITH RIGHT REAR QUAD OF H2 JETSTREAK SEEN ON ETA TIL DAYBREAK THURS. SINCE K INDEX INDICATES MDT INSTABILITY BUT WITH CAPES EXCEEDING 3K...WL NEED TO WATCH FOR MORE SVR ACTIVITY...MAINLY FUNNEL CLOUDS WET MICROBURSTS...AND PSBL BRIEF TORNADOS NEXT HOUR OR SO AS SHEAR IS FAVORABLE ALTHO LGT. LARGE HAIL ALSO A THREAT. LIS SHUD AGAIN BE HIGH ON THURS AS H5 TROF OVR AREA WITH COLD POOL AND AGAIN HIGH CAPES. 11 BPT 67/84/68/84 5423 LCH 67/83/68/84 5424 LFT 67/84/68/85 5545 AEX 68/82/69/85 5424
In the hours before
Local storm report, May 28, 1:41 PM CDT, 2 hours 50 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
141 PM CDT WED MAY 28 1997
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
140 PM CREOLE LA TORNADO
05/28/97 CAMERON BRIEF TORNADO TOUCHDOWN NEAR
CREOLE.Local storm report, May 28, 1:43 PM CDT, 2 hours 48 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
141 PM CDT WED MAY 28 1997
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION..f..
140 PM CREOLE LA TORNADO
05/28/97 CAMERON BRIEF TORNADO TOUCHDOWN NEAR
CREOLE.The office that day
Everything else NWS Lake Charles, LA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 12:03 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Vernon | 57 min |
| May 28, 1:21 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LCH | Cameron | 69 min |
| May 28, 3:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Iberia, Saint Martin | 45 min |
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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.