Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Watches in 1998

Tornado Watch 150

March 31, 199823 parishes in Louisiana; 4 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 31, 1998, 4:00 AM CST for 23 parishes in Louisiana; 4 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Mar 31, 1998, 4:00 AM CST (10:00 UTC)
Expired: Mar 31, 1998, 9:00 AM CST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 27 counties

Allen Parish, LA, Avoyelles Parish, LA, Beauregard Parish, LA, Calcasieu Parish, LA, Caldwell Parish, LA, Catahoula Parish, LA, Concordia Parish, LA, East Carroll Parish, LA, Evangeline Parish, LA, Franklin Parish, LA, Grant Parish, LA, Jefferson Davis Parish, LA, LaSalle Parish, LA, Madison Parish, LA, Natchitoches Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA, Richland Parish, LA, Sabine Parish, LA, Saint Landry Parish, LA, Tensas Parish, LA, Vernon Parish, LA, West Feliciana Parish, LA, Winn Parish, LA, Adams County, MS, Issaquena County, MS, Jefferson County, MS, Wilkinson County, MS

The nearest sounding before it

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 00:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 155 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: 812 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1286 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 131 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 229 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.7
Supercell composite: 4.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

145 
WWUS9 KMKC 310959
SEL0  
MKC WW 310959
LAZ000-MSZ000-311500-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 150
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
359 AM CST TUE MAR 31 1998

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

   CENTRAL LOUISIANA                          
   SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI                        

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY MORNING FROM 400 AM UNTIL 900 AM CST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 65 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF FORT POLK LOUISIANA
TO 25 MILES NORTHEAST OF NATCHEZ MISSISSIPPI.

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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 149.  WATCH NUMBER 149 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 400 AM
CST.  

DISCUSSION...CHANCE FOR ISOLATED LEWP CREST TORNADOES THIS MORNING
ACROSS PARTS OF CENTRAL LA...WHERE MODEST INFLOW OF GULF AIR WILL
CONTINUE AHEAD OF TRAILING PORTION OF CENTRAL PLAINS UPPER TROUGH. 

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 400. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.

...CORFIDI

314,0934 324,0905 305,0905 295,0934

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 31, 12:00 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, De Soto, Grant and 10 more	4 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 1998 Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 1998 Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.