Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Watches in 2000

Tornado Watch 200

April 23, 200014 parishes in Louisiana; 4 counties in Mississippi; 4 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 23, 2000, 9:30 PM CDT for 14 parishes in Louisiana; 4 counties in Mississippi; 4 counties in Texas. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Apr 23, 2000, 9:30 PM CDT (02:30 UTC)
Expired: Apr 24, 2000, 3:00 AM CDT
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 22 counties

Allen Parish, LA, Avoyelles Parish, LA, Beauregard Parish, LA, East Baton Rouge Parish, LA, East Feliciana Parish, LA, Evangeline Parish, LA, Pointe Coupee Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA, Saint Helena Parish, LA, Saint Landry Parish, LA, Tangipahoa Parish, LA, Vernon Parish, LA, Washington Parish, LA, West Feliciana Parish, LA, Amite County, MS, Pike County, MS, Walthall County, MS, Wilkinson County, MS, Jasper County, TX, Newton County, TX, Sabine County, TX, San Augustine County, TX

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 23, 9:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Vernon	61 min
Apr 23, 10:06 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LCH	Vernon	54 min
Apr 23, 10:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Rapides	55 min
Apr 23, 10:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	Wilkinson	46 min
Apr 23, 11:05 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Avoyelles, Evangeline	40 min
Apr 23, 11:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	Amite	56 min
Apr 23, 11:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Newton	40 min
Apr 23, 11:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Avoyelles, Saint Landry	46 min
Apr 23, 11:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	Pointe Coupee, West Feliciana	52 min
Apr 24, 12:04 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	Pike	41 min
Apr 24, 12:35 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, West Baton Rouge	55 min
Apr 24, 12:41 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	Pike, Walthall	49 min

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 176 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: -108 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 729 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 134 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 160 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.4
Supercell composite: 4.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

883 
WWUS9 KMKC 240230
SEL0  

SEL0  
MKC WW 240230
LAZ000-MSZ000-TXZ000-240800-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 200
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
930 PM CDT SUN APR 23 2000

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

   CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LOUISIANA                          
   SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI                        
   EAST CENTRAL TEXAS                              

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING FROM 945 PM UNTIL
300 AM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 130 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 5 MILES WEST OF ALEXANDRIA LOUISIANA TO 40 MILES
WEST OF BATON ROUGE 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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 198...WW 199...

DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY TO CONTINUE DEVELOPING ON WRN END
OF ENE/WSW SQUALL LINE OVER CNTRL LA...AS FORCED ASCENT ALONG COLD
POOL FAVORS NEW CELL FORMATION INVOF THE SABINE RIVER...WHERE
GREATEST SURFACE-BASED INSTABILITY EXISTS.  STRONG DEEP LAYER SHEAR
PERSISTING ACROSS REGION /AOA 50 KTS/...COUPLED WITH RICH MOISTURE
INFLOW /MIXING RATIOS ON THE ORDER OF 14 G/KG/...SUGGESTS CONTINUED
TORNADIC POTENTIAL DESPITE LINEAR FORCING OF COLD POOL.   

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 28030.

...CORFIDI

312,0901 303,0893 303,0940 312,0943

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 23, 8:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Catahoula, Claiborne and 19 more	6 hr
Apr 24, 1:15 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Ascension, Assumption, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafayette and 13 more	5 hr
Apr 23, 8:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Bolivar, Coahoma, Sunflower	6 hr
Apr 23, 10:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Adams, Claiborne, Clarke, Copiah, Covington, Franklin and 18 more	4 hr
Apr 24, 5:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Dallam, Hansford, Hartley, Hutchinson, Moore, Ochiltree and 2 more	5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2000 Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2000 Tornado Watches in Texas, 2000 Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.