Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 91, NWS Lake Charles, LA

August 31, 1997Saint Martin Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 31, 1997, 6:11 PM CDT for Saint Martin Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 49 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
Aug 31, 1997, 6:11 PM CDT (23:11 UTC)
Expired
Aug 31, 1997, 7:00 PM CDT
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties

County Saint Martin Parish, LA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 31, 6:25 PM CDTHail 0.75St Martinville, 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, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 153 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 1997-08-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2191 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 1997-08-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -20 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
2191 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-24 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
834 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-20 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-11 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KLCH 312315 RRA
SVRLCH
LAC099-010000-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
611 PM CDT SUN AUG 31 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  700 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA
 
       LOWER ST. MARTIN PARISH
 
AT 610 PM CDT...NEXRAD DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
LOCATED 5 MILES NORTH OF STEPHENSVILLE MOVING SOUTHWEST AT 10 MPH.
WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH AND ONE INCH HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED
WITH THIS STORM.
 
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 Aug 31, 2:29 PM CDT, 3 hours 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 31, 2:29 PM CDT, 3 hours 42 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS..SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
220 PM CDT SUN AUG 31 1997

5H RIDGE OVER WESTERN TX WILL RETROGRADE SOME DURING THIS FCST PD
AS S/W ROTATES AROUND THE RIDGE AND ACROSS THE FA DURING THE
DAY ON MONDAY. AMS WILL CONTINUE TO BE MODERATELY UNSTABLE
WITH LI VALUES AROUND -5 AND K INDICIES RIGHT AROUND 30.
P.W. VALUES WILL CONTINUE TO BE SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL WITH
VALUES AROUND 1.8". WILL GO FOR CHC POPS ACROSS LA ON MONDAY
AND IN THE SLIGHT CHC CAT ACROSS SE TX AS VVEL REMAIN HIGHER
ACROSS LA. WL ALSO HAVE TO SEE IF SFC CONVERGENCE ZONE CURRENTLY OVER
CENTRAL LA THIS AFTERNOON MOVES ANY MORE TO SOUTH OVER TIME.

WILL ZKNOCK POPS BACK DOWN TO SLIGHT CHC CAT OVER LA ON TUESDAY
AS S/W PASSES AND NVA PREVAILS.             10

LCH 74/93/74/93 1322    AEX 71/93/71/94 2322
LFT 74/93/74/94 1322
BPT 75/94/74/93 1222

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.