Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 100, NWS Lake Charles, LA

April 12, 2000Cameron Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 12, 2000, 11:08 AM CDT for Cameron Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 67 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: Apr 12, 2000, 11:08 AM CDT (16:08 UTC)
Expired: Apr 12, 2000, 12:15 PM CDT
In force: 67 min
Issued by: NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area: Whole counties

County Cameron Parish, LA

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 31 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:08 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Apr 12, 11:15 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Cameron, 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 nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 4.1 hours before the alert went out and 30 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: 1108 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 502 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 57 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 126 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

612 
WUUS54 KLCH 121610
SVRLCH
LAC023-121715-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
1108 AM CDT WED APR 12 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CAMERON PARISH IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA

* UNTIL 1215 PM CDT

* AT 1057 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER CENTRAL CAMERON PARISH...MOVING EAST AT 25
  MPH.

* THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  CAMERON BY 1130 AM CDT
  CREOLE BY 1130 AM CDT
  GRAND CHENIER BY 1145 AM CDT
  KLONDIKE BY 1150 AM CDT

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH...DESTRUCTIVE
HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING AND TORRENTIAL RAIN.

CALL 337-477-5285 TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE WEATHER SERVICE.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Lake Charles, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 12, 9:05 AM CDT, 2 hours 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 12, 9:05 AM CDT, 2 hours 3 minutes before

SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
905 AM CDT WED APR 12 2000

WITH DECENT POSITIVE VORTICITY ADVECTION MOVING THROUGH THE AREA AND
SUCH CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE SURFACE LOW...CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION
WILL BE INCREASED FOR THE ENTIRE COUNTY WARNING AREA.  WILL REMOVE
MORNING FOG WORDING WHEN CONDITIONS WARRANT IT. HEAVY RAINS LIKELY
AS FRONTAL BOUNDARY SERVES AS FOCUSING MECHANISM TODAY.

.LCH...
LA...NONE
TX...NONE

UPDATED PRELIMINARY NUMBERS
LCH 75/57/74/58 7520
LFT 75/59/75/58 7530
AEX 68/56/73/55 9520
BPT 75/59/75/61 7520

22/11

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 12, 5:10 AM CDT, 5 hours 58 minutes before

LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182-201-215-216-122000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
510 AM CDT WED APR 12 2000

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS...CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN LOUISIANA TODAY AND TONIGHT...

A COLD FRONT EXTENDING OVER CENTRAL LOUISIANA WILL SLOWLY MOVE SOUTH
THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. A SURFACE LOW WILL DEVELOP AND MOVE ALONG
THE FRONT DURING THIS TIME ALSO. AS A RESULT...SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL
CONTINUE TO PUMP LOW LEVEL MOISTURE INTO THE AREA. THIS WILL COMBINE
WITH DAYTIME HEATING AND UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT TO SET THE STAGE FOR
THUNDERSTORMS...WITH A FEW STORMS BECOMING SEVERE THIS AFTERNOON.

THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE IN THE FORM OF LARGE
HAIL AND DAMAGING DOWNBURST WINDS. A FEW SMALL TORNADOES MAY
OCCUR...AS THEY ARE ALWAYS POSSIBLE WITH ANY SEVERE WEATHER EVENT.
LOCALIZED RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE TO TWO INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE AS
WELL. HOWEVER WIDESPREAD FLOODING IS NOT EXPECTED WITH THIS SYSTEM.

ALL INTERESTS IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS...CENTRAL...AND SOUTHERN LOUISIANA
SHOULD MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND LOCAL MEDIA FOR UPDATES ON THIS
WEATHER SITUATION.

ACTIVATION OF SKY WARN SPOTTERS MAY BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING AS WELL.

MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE
CHARLES WEB-SITE AT WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/LCH.

8

Local storm report, Apr 12, 10:57 AM CDT, 11 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES, LA
1057 AM CDT WED APR 12 2000

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

1000 AM    4 W VINTON                LA   .75 INCH HAIL
04/12/00   CALCASIEU                      TRUCK DRIVER REPORTED ON
                                          I-10

1100 AM    NEDERLAND                 TX   FLOOD
04/12/00   JEFFERSON                     0945 AM    SABINE PASS               TX   78 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
04/12/00   JEFFERSON                      POWER OUT ACROSS TOWN.
                                          REPORTED BY NWS DAPM

0900 AM    PORT NECHES               TX   FLOOD
04/12/00   JEFFERSON                      WATER IN HOMES ON CROCKETT
                                          AND CALIFORNIA STREETS

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 12, 9:23 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Calcasieu	67 min
Apr 12, 10:32 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Beauregard, Calcasieu	58 min
Apr 12, 11:24 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Calcasieu	36 min
Apr 12, 11:36 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Jefferson Davis	54 min
Apr 12, 11:45 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Allen	60 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Louisiana, 2000 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2000

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.