Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 43

February 12, 199712 parishes in Louisiana

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 12, 1997, 9:15 PM CST for 12 parishes in Louisiana. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Feb 12, 1997, 9:15 PM CST (03:15 UTC)
Expired: Feb 13, 1997, 3:00 AM CST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Assumption Parish, LA, Iberia Parish, LA, Jefferson Parish, LA, Lafourche Parish, LA, Orleans Parish, LA, Plaquemines Parish, LA, Saint Bernard Parish, LA, Saint Charles Parish, LA, Saint James Parish, LA, Saint Martin Parish, LA, St. Mary Parish, LA, Terrebonne Parish, LA

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 12, 11:43 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	Lafourche, Terrebonne	32 min
Feb 13, 12:22 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	LIX	Lafourche, Terrebonne	2 hr
Feb 13, 12:24 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	Jefferson, Saint Charles	51 min
Feb 13, 1:04 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	Orleans, Plaquemines	26 min
Feb 13, 1:29 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	Saint Bernard	31 min

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 00:00Z, 3.3 hours before the alert went out and 115 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 536 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 74 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 690 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 1324 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.

700 
WWUS9 KMKC 130246
SEL3  
MKC WW 130246
LAZ000-130900-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 43
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
846 PM CST WED FEB 12 1997

A...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR

   PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA                 
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING UNTIL 300 AM
CST.

TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING
THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.


THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 40 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 80 MILES WEST OF HOUMA LOUISIANA TO 45 MILES
EAST NORTHEAST OF BOOTHVILLE LOUISIANA.

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.
$$

C...TORNADOES AND A FEW SVR TSTMS WITH HAIL SFC AND ALF TO  3/4
INCHES.  EXTRM TURBC AND SFC WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CBS
WITH MAX TOPS TO 400.  MEAN WIND VECTOR 24050.

D...LN OF TSTMS OVR THE NRN GULFMEX IS APCHG THE S CNTRL LA CST.
SFC WRMFNT JUST OFSHR SHOULD LIFT A BIT NWD AND INLAND DURG THE
NEXT SVRL HRS. RESULTANT AMS DESTABILIZATION WL INCR SVR POTENTIAL.
WIND FIELDS ARE VRY FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELL STORMS SUGGESTING A
THREAT FOR TORNADOES WITH ANY PERSISTENT CNVTN.

...VESCIO

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 1997 Every 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.