Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Lake Charles, LA

January 27, 1997Allen Parish, Beauregard Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this tornado warning at Jan 27, 1997, 3:46 PM CST for Allen Parish, Beauregard 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
Jan 27, 1997, 3:46 PM CST (21:46 UTC)
Expired
Jan 27, 1997, 4:45 PM CST
In force
59 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Allen Parish, LA, Beauregard Parish, LA

The radar

The Ft Polk radar (KPOE), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:31 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jan 27, 3:55 PM CSTThunderstorm WindLongville, 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jan 27, 1:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 60 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 1997-01-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 531 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 1997-01-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 102 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
531 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-80 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
480 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
102 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
208 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KLCH 272146 RRA
TORLCH
LAC003-011-272245-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
346 PM CST MON JAN 27 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  445 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA
 
   ...ALLEN PARISH...BEAUREGARD PARISH
 
AT 3:45 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO...3 MILES
NORTHEAST OF LONGVILLE. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. PERSONS
IN THE COMMUNITIES OF DRY CREEK AND MITTIE ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS
STORM.
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR
ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKE\TS...PILLOWS
...OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 27, 1:42 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHRapides63 min
Jan 27, 3:28 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHBeauregard62 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Louisiana, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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.