Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 85

March 2, 199721 parishes in Louisiana; 16 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 2, 1997, 9:45 AM CST for 21 parishes in Louisiana; 16 counties in Texas. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Mar 2, 1997, 9:45 AM CST (15:45 UTC)
Expired: Mar 2, 1997, 4:00 PM CST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 37 counties

Acadia Parish, LA, Allen Parish, LA, Beauregard Parish, LA, Bienville Parish, LA, Calcasieu Parish, LA, Cameron Parish, LA, De Soto Parish, LA, Evangeline Parish, LA, Grant Parish, LA, Iberia Parish, LA, Jackson Parish, LA, Jefferson Davis Parish, LA, Lafayette Parish, LA, Natchitoches Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA, Red River Parish, LA, Sabine Parish, LA, Saint Landry Parish, LA, Vermilion Parish, LA, Vernon Parish, LA, Winn Parish, LA, Angelina County, TX, Cherokee County, TX, Gregg County, TX, Hardin County, TX, Jasper County, TX, Jefferson County, TX, Nacogdoches County, TX, Newton County, TX, Orange County, TX, Panola County, TX, Rusk County, TX, Sabine County, TX, San Augustine County, TX, Shelby County, TX, Smith County, TX, Tyler County, TX

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 2, 10:44 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	SHV	Panola, Shelby	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 3.8 hours before the alert went out and 130 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: 846 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -38 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 631 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 154 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 154 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.6
Supercell composite: 3.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

765 
WWUS9 KMKC 021521
SEL5  
MKC WW 021521
LAZ000-TXZ000-022200-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 85
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
921 AM CST SUN MAR 2 1997

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

   MUCH OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA                          
   PARTS OF EASTERN TEXAS                              
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON UNTIL 400 PM CST.

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


THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 85 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 10 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF SHREVEPORT LOUISIANA TO
50 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF LAKE CHARLES 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 1 3/4
INCHES.  EXTRM TURBC AND SFC WIND GUSTS TO 80 KNOTS.  A FEW CBS
WITH MAX TOPS TO 450.  MEAN WIND VECTOR 24045.

D...THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE AS COLD FRONT AND STRONG UPR VORT
AXIS MOVES EWD INTO MOIST UNSTABLE AIR MASS. 80 KT MID LVL FLOW AND
MID LEVEL DRY INTRUSION INDICATE POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGING DOWNBURSTS
AND A FEW STRONG TORNADOES.

E...OTR TSTMS... 

...ROGASH

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 2, 1:15 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Avoyelles, Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia, East Carroll, East Feliciana and 11 more	6 hr
Mar 2, 4:00 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Allen, Avoyelles, Bienville, Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia and 20 more	6 hr
Mar 1, 6:00 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Bowie, Camp, Cass, Franklin, Gregg, Harrison and 6 more	3 hr
Mar 1, 10:15 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Atascosa, Austin, Bastrop, Bexar, Blanco, Brazos and 30 more	6 hr
Mar 1, 11:00 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Aransas, Bee, Brazoria, Calhoun, Duval, Fort Bend and 14 more	5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 1997 Tornado Watches in Texas, 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.