Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 29, NWS Lake Charles, LA

September 12, 1998Rapides Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this tornado warning at Sep 12, 1998, 1:04 PM CDT for Rapides Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 61 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
Sep 12, 1998, 1:04 PM CDT (18:04 UTC)
Expired
Sep 12, 1998, 2:05 PM CDT
In force
61 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties

County Rapides Parish, LA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Sep 12, 1:17 PM CDTTornado F0Alexandria, 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
Sep 12, 9:45 AM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 6.1 hours before the alert went out and 136 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 1998-09-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 527 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 1998-09-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 145 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
527 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-12 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
744 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
145 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
171 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.

695 
WFUS1 KLCH 121806 RRA
TORLCH
LAC079-121905-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
104 PM CDT SAT SEP 12 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  RAPIDES PARISH IN CENTRAL LOUISIANA

* UNTIL 205 PM CDT

* AT 101 PM CDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A TORNADO 26 MILES SOUTH OF ALEXANDRIA OR 4 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
  LONGLEAF MOVING NORTH AT 35 MPH.

* TORNADO WILL BE NEAR
  GLENMORA BY 107 PM CDT
  ALEXANDRIA BY 135 PM CDT
  PINEVILLE BY 135 PM CDT
  BALL  BY 145 PM CDT

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 PROTECT YOUR BODY FROM FLYING
DEBRIS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 11, 10:16 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHLafayette, Saint Landry3 hr
Sep 12, 8:47 AM CDTTornado WarningLCHAllen53 min
Sep 12, 9:17 AM CDTTornado WarningLCHLafayette48 min
Sep 12, 9:23 AM CDTTornado WarningLCHVermilion32 min
Sep 12, 11:00 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHCalcasieu2 hr
Sep 12, 2:27 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHEvangeline2 hr

Nearby

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

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.