Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 236

May 2, 19974 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 2, 1997, 4:30 PM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 2, 1997, 4:30 PM CDT (21:30 UTC)
Expired
May 2, 1997, 11:00 PM CDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 40 counties

Ashley County, AR, Bradley County, AR, Calhoun County, AR, Chicot County, AR, Columbia County, AR, Desha County, AR, Drew County, AR, Hempstead County, AR, Lafayette County, AR, Miller County, AR, Nevada County, AR, Ouachita County, AR, Union County, AR, Bienville Parish, LA, Bossier Parish, LA, Caddo Parish, LA, Caldwell Parish, LA, Catahoula Parish, LA, Claiborne Parish, LA, Concordia Parish, LA, De Soto Parish, LA, East Carroll Parish, LA, Franklin Parish, LA, Grant Parish, LA, Jackson Parish, LA, LaSalle Parish, LA, Lincoln Parish, LA, Morehouse Parish, LA, Natchitoches Parish, LA, Ouachita Parish, LA, Red River Parish, LA, Richland Parish, LA, Sabine Parish, LA, Tensas Parish, LA, Union Parish, LA, Webster Parish, LA, West Carroll Parish, LA, Winn Parish, LA, Adams County, MS, Sabine County, TX

The radar

The Shreveport radar (KSHV), 92 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:30 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.

Warnings issued inside it

32 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 4:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANAshley30 min
May 2, 4:41 PM CDTTornado WarningJANEast Carroll, West Carroll49 min
May 2, 4:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKDrew48 min
May 2, 5:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVUnion44 min
May 2, 5:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVSabine50 min
May 2, 5:15 PM CDTTornado WarningJANMorehouse45 min
May 2, 5:28 PM CDTTornado WarningJANEast Carroll32 min
May 2, 5:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVUnion46 min
May 2, 5:46 PM CDTTornado WarningSHVSabine29 min
May 2, 5:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANChicot54 min
May 2, 5:59 PM CDTTornado WarningSHVNatchitoches31 min
May 2, 6:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKDrew31 min
May 2, 6:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKBradley33 min
May 2, 6:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVUnion46 min
May 2, 6:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVNatchitoches, Winn29 min
May 2, 6:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANAshley40 min
May 2, 6:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANChicot39 min
May 2, 6:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKDrew51 min
May 2, 7:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKDesha35 min
May 2, 7:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKBradley33 min
May 2, 7:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVWinn33 min
May 2, 7:57 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLZKBradley, Drew3 hr
May 2, 7:57 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLZKCalhoun3 hr
May 2, 8:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKDrew35 min
May 2, 8:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVBossier, Webster50 min
May 2, 8:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVDe Soto61 min
May 2, 9:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVBienville, Claiborne51 min
May 2, 9:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVLincoln50 min
May 2, 10:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANChicot43 min
May 2, 10:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANAshley40 min
May 2, 10:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVSabine53 min
May 2, 10:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVOuachita43 min

The nearest sounding before it

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 12:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 84 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, Shreveport, LA at 12:00Z on 1997-05-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1449 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, Shreveport, LA at 12:00Z on 1997-05-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 249 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1449 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-140 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
561 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
249 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
371 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.7
Supercell composite
2.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

772 
WWUS9 KMKC 022110
SEL6  
MKC WW 022110
ARZ000-LAZ000-030400-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 236
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
410 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   SOUTHERN ARKANSAS                           
   NORTHERN LOUISIANA                          

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 430 PM UNTIL 1100
PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 1/4 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 80 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF ALEXANDRIA LOUISIANA TO
50 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF EL DORADO ARKANSAS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 232...WW 233...WW
234...WW 235...

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

DISCUSSION...STORMS ARE INCREASING OVER NORTHERN LOUISIANA AND ALSO
IN SOUTHERN ARKANSAS WHERE AIRMASS HAS RECOVERED. FAVORABLE SHEAR
PROFILE WILL BE CONDUCIVE FOR A FEW SUPERCELL STORMS.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 1/4 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
550.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26035.


...VESCIO

311,0940 335,0935 335,0910 311,0912

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 1:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCClay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Greene, Jackson and 4 more6 hr
May 2, 5:15 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCArkansas, Baxter, Boone, Carroll, Clark, Clay and 52 more6 hr
May 2, 12:15 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCMadison7 hr
May 2, 6:45 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCMadison, Tensas6 hr
May 2, 3:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCClarke, Wayne6 hr
May 1, 10:15 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCBriscoe, Childress, Collingsworth, Cottle, Donley, Floyd and 7 more6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 1997Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 1997Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 1997Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.