Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 111, NWS Lake Charles, LA

September 20, 2001Vernon Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 20, 2001, 4:08 PM CDT for Vernon Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 67 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Sep 20, 2001, 4:08 PM CDT (21:08 UTC)
Expired
Sep 20, 2001, 5:15 PM CDT
In force
67 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Vernon Parish, LA

The radar

The Ft Polk radar (KPOE), 38 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:08 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Sep 20, 5:00 PM CDTHail 0.88Leesville, 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, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 115 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 2001-09-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3591 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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 2001-09-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -2 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
3591 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
615 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
10 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-2 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
20 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.

414 
WUUS54 KLCH 202110
SVRLCH
LAC115-202215-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
ISSUED BY NWS SHREVEPORT LA
408 PM CDT THU SEP 20 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  VERNON PARISH IN WEST CENTRAL LOUISIANA

* UNTIL 515 PM CDT

* AT 408 PM CDT...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER   
  RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 20 MILES WEST OF 
  LEESVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  2 MILES NORTH OF LEESVILLE...4 MILES NORTH OF NEWLLANO AT 440 PM CDT...
  NEAR FORT POLK AT 450 PM CDT.

THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND STRONG DAMAGING WINDS.
DO NOT REMAIN OUTSIDE.

REPEATING...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  VERNON PARISH IN WEST CENTRAL LOUISIANA
UNTIL 515 PM CDT.

LAT...LON 3122 9355 3101 9346 3091 9302 3134 9328

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 Sep 20, 2:20 PM CDT, 1 hour 48 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 20, 2:20 PM CDT, 1 hour 48 minutes before
SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
220 PM CDT THU SEP 20 2001

HIGH PRESSURE WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE FCST AREA FOR THE NEXT FEW
DAYS...LIGHT NORTHERLY WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO ADVECT CONTINENTAL AIR.

SEE PROBLEMS FOR THE WEEKEND. A DEEP TROUGH IN THE WESTERLIES WILL
EJECT SEVERAL SHORT-WAVES ACROSS LOUISIANA. THE ATTENDANT QUASI
-GEOSTROPHIC LIFT WILL ENCOURAGE THUNDERSTORMS IN THE DESTABILIZING
PRE-FRONTAL AIR. A RATHER ROBUST COLD FRONT WILL SPILL ACROSS THE
ENTIRE STATE OF LOUISIANA BY EARLY MONDAY MORNING.

CURRENTLY I AM WORKING OFFSITE AT THE HOUSTON FORCAST OFFICE...WHILE
THE LAKE CHARLES AWIPS COMPUTER RECEIVES AN UPGRADE. A SPECIAL
THANKS TO THE HOUSTON PERSONNEL FOR THEIR GRACIOUS HOSPITALITY.

.PRELIMINARY NUMBERS...
AEX 72/92/71/89/70/87/66 01114232
BPT 74/91/73/88/72/88/68 01014232
LCH 73/92/73/88/72/88/68 01014232
LFT 72/92/72/90/72/90/68 01012224

.LCH...NONE.

TRARES

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 20, 4:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHRapides, Vernon64 min
Sep 20, 6:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHBeauregard, Calcasieu, Jefferson Davis60 min
Sep 20, 6:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAllen60 min
Sep 20, 6:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAcadia, Jefferson Davis62 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Louisiana, 2001Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2001

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.