Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 85, NWS Lake Charles, LA
NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 22, 1997, 2:56 PM CDT for Vernon Parish, Louisiana; Newton County, Texas. It was in force for 64 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
- Aug 22, 1997, 2:56 PM CDT (19:56 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 22, 1997, 4:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 64 min
- Issued by
- NWS Lake Charles, LA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Vernon Parish, LA, Newton County, TX
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 22, 3:05 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Leesville, LA | |
| Aug 22, 3:05 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Burkeville, TX |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 22, 11:30 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 95 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
- 1535 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -50 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 959 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 24 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 63 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 198 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.6
- Supercell composite
- 4.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
927 WUUS1 KLCH 221957 SVRLCH LAC115-TXC351-222100- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 256 PM CDT FRI AUG 22 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 400 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA ...VERNON PARISH IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS ...NEWTON COUNTY AT 255 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING SOUTH AT 20 MPH INTO NORTHERN PORTIONS OF NEWTON COUNTY AND VERNON PARISH. THIS LINE WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH AND 3/4 INCH HAIL HAS IT MOVES SOUTH. THE COMMUNITIES OF BURKVILLE...BURRFERRY...HORNBECK AND ANACOCO. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH YOU SHOULD PREPARE FOR DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...LARGE HAIL...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. PEOPLE OUTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO A SHELTER... PREFERABLY INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
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 Aug 22, 2:49 PM CDT, 7 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 22, 2:49 PM CDT, 7 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS..SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 242 PM CDT FRI AUG 22 1997 SQUALL LINE CONTINUING TO MOVE SE ARND 30 KTS...ABOUT TO ENTER NRN PTNS OF FA. HAVE BEEN SEVERAL REPORTS OF GUSTS OVER 55 KNOTS AND A FEW SVR HAIL REPORTS WITH THESE STORMS. XPCT THIS LINE OF STORMS TO CONTINUE MOVING THROUGH THE AREA DURING THE EVENING HOURS AND PUSH ON INTO THE GULF. CHC FOR SVR WX SHUD CONTINUE... THO UPPER DYNAMICS APPEARS TO BE TRYING TO PULL AWAY FROM THE ACTIVITY IN A MORE ELY DIRECTION. MODELS SHEAR ANOTHER S/W ACROSS THE AREA TMRW...BUT AFTER THIS ACTIVITY CLEARS THE AREA TONITE... BELIEVE AMS WILL NOT SUPPORT THE POPS GIVEN BY GDNC. TEMPS NEARER FWC THAN FAN. 8 BPT 72/91/71/92 6201 LCH 71/91/70/91 6201 LFT 70/90/69/91 5201 AEX 67/88/67/89 5000 TX ZONES... LA ZONES...
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 22, 10:35 AM CDT, 4 hours 21 minutes before
LAZ027-030-031-041-042-051-TXZ180>182-201-215-216-221915- THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 1035 AM CDT FRI AUG 22 1997 ...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA... A STATIONARY FRONT ORIENTED NORTH TO SOUTH ALONG THE SABINE RIVER WILL BE A FOCUS FOR THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTEROON AND EVENING. IN ADDITION TO THE FRONT...AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL BE MOVING SOUTH OUT OF NORTH TEXAS INTO THE REGION LATER THIS AFTERNOON. THIS COUPLED WITH THE DAYTIME HEATING WILL GIVE AN INCREASED CHANCE FOR SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA THIS AFTERNOON...INTO THE EVENING HOURS. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE STRONG DOWNBURST WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH AND HEAVY RAINFALL. LOCALIZED STREET FLOODING WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS WHERE ONE TO TWO INCHES OF PRECIPITATION OCCURRED YESTERDAY EVENING. ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS...HAM RADIO OPERATORS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
Special weather statement, Aug 22, 10:44 AM CDT, 4 hours 12 minutes before
LAZ027-030-031-041-042-051-TXZ180>182-201-215-216-221915- THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 1035 AM CDT FRI AUG 22 1997 ...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA... A STATIONARY FRONT ORIENTED NORTH TO SOUTH ALONG THE SABINE RIVER WILL BE A FOCUS FOR THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTEROON AND EVENING. IN ADDITION TO THE FRONT...AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL BE MOVING SOUTH OUT OF NORTH TEXAS INTO THE REGION LATER THIS AFTERNOON. THIS COUPLED WITH THE DAYTIME HEATING WILL GIVE AN INCREASED CHANCE FOR SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA THIS AFTERNOON...INTO THE EVENING HOURS. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE STRONG DOWNBURST WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH AND HEAVY RAINFALL. LOCALIZED STREET FLOODING WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS WHERE ONE TO TWO INCHES OF PRECIPITATION OCCURRED YESTERDAY EVENING. ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS...HAM RADIO OPERATORS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Lake Charles, LA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 22, 3:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Beauregard | 60 min |
| Aug 22, 3:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Allen | 63 min |
| Aug 22, 4:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Calcasieu | 66 min |
| Aug 22, 5:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Cameron | 58 min |
| Aug 22, 5:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Jefferson | 67 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Louisiana, 1997Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 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.