Tornado Warning 15, NWS Lake Charles, LA

Issued

Mar 6, 1998, 12:39 PM CST (18:39 UTC)

Expired

Mar 6, 1998, 1:40 PM CST

In force

61 min

Issued by

NWS Lake Charles, LA

Area

Whole counties

Counties Lafayette Parish, LA, Saint Martin Parish, LA

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 133 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:43 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.

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.

770 
WFUS1 KLCH 061837 RRA
TORLCH
LAC055-099-061940-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
1239 PM CST FRI MAR 6 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES LA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 140 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA

   ...LAFAYETTE PARISH

IN SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA

   ...UPPER ST. MARTIN PARISH

AT 1235 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO NEAR THE
CITY OF LAFAYETTE.

MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

PEOPLE FROM LAFAYETTE TO BREAUX BRIDGE AND HENDERSON SHOULD TAKE
ACTION NOW.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...SEEK SHELTER IN AN
INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...
PILLOWS...OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

ERICKSON

NWS Lake Charles, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Mar 6, 9:30 AM CST, 3 hours 9 minutes earlier.

SOUTHEAST TEXAS..SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
930 AM CST FRI MAR 6 1998

IR AND VIS SAT LOOP SHOWING CONSIDERABLE MID/HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS
ABOVE FOG AND LOW CLOUDS. ISOLATED STRONG TSTM OCCURRING OFFSHORE
25 MILES S OF HIGH ISLAND. NEARLY STATIONARY FRONT LOCATED JUST N
OF BPT TO LEESVILLE TO NEAR AEX.  ALONG AND S OF FRONT AIRMASS IS
MOIST AND UNSTABLE WITH MODIFIED 12Z LCH SOUNDING SHOWING LI OF
-6 AND CAPE OF 1200. MOISTURE DEPTH IS LACKING WITH DRY LAYER
ABOVE SHALLOW MOIST LAYER...THEREFORE EXPECT WIDELY SCT/SCT
SHOWERS AND TSTMS THIS AFT...SOME OF WHICH MAY BE STRONG TO SVR.
BEST CHC SVR WILL COME LATE TONIGHT AND SAT WITH APPROACH OF
MID/UPPER LEVEL TROF. FOR UPDATED ZONES...SUGGEST MENTIONING
TSTMS FOR COASTAL SE TX ZONES AND RAISING POPS TO 30 PERCENT AND
CHANGING WINDS TO SE. CAN DROP DENSE FOG ADVISORY AREAWIDE. FOR
LA ZONES...CHG AFT CLOUDS TO M CLOUDY.

1

In the hours before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
1238 PM CST FRI MAR 6 1998

TIME(CST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1225 PM    LAFAYETTE                 LA   0.75 INCH HAIL
03/06/98   LAFAYETTE                      REPORTED BY SKYWARN SPOTTERS

ERICKSON

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
1238 PM CST FRI MAR 6 1998

TIME(CST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1225 PM    LAFAYETTE                 LA   0.75 INCH HAIL
03/06/98   LAFAYETTE                      REPORTED BY SKYWARN SPOTTERS

ERICKSON

Tornado Warnings in Louisiana, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes in 1998

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.