Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 121, NWS Lake Charles, LA

September 21, 2001Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 21, 2001, 4:57 PM CDT for Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 63 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 21, 2001, 4:57 PM CDT (21:57 UTC)
Expired
Sep 21, 2001, 6:00 PM CDT
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Avoyelles Parish, LA

The radar

The Ft Polk radar (KPOE), 94 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:00 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 21, 5:00 PM CDTHail 1.75Simmesport, 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, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 160 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 2001-09-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2390 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 2001-09-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -5 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
2390 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-25 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
749 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
22 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.

651 
WUUS54 KLCH 212157
SVRLCH
LAC009-212300-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
457 PM CDT FRI SEP 21 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  AVOYELLES PARISH IN CENTRAL LOUISIANA

* UNTIL 600 PM CDT

* AT 452 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER MARKSVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 10 MPH.

* THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  MOREAUVILLE BY 510 PM CDT
  SIMMESPORT BY 555 PM 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.

LAT...LON 3121 9211 3104 9216 3095 9183 3115 9172

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 21, 3:51 PM CDT, 1 hour 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 21, 3:51 PM CDT, 1 hour 6 minutes before
SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
240 PM CDT FRI SEP 21 2001

STALLED FNT IS DRAPED FM NRN OK AND EXTENDS ACRS CNTRL MO AND INTO
THE GREAT LAKES REGION THIS AFTN. SOUTH OF THE FRONT ELONGATED SFC
HIGH EXTENDS FM THE APPALACHIANS DOWN INTO NE LA. WHILE CLOSER TO
HOME A TROF EXTENDS FM CNTRL TX...NE TO LFK... THEN KICKS ON TO THE
EAST. DEW POINTS SOUTH OF THIS LN IN THE LWR 70S WHILE NORTH OF
THIS LN THE THEY REMAIN IN THE UPR 60S.

88-D RADAR AT LCH BECMG MORE ACTIVE THIS AFTN W/ SHWRS/TSTMS
STARTING TO MOV SOUTH AND INTO VERNON PARISH. ATMOSPHERE REMAINS
VERY UNSTABLE AND W/ MID LVL SHRTWV FM THE WEST APPROACHING THE AREA
THIS WILL ENHANCE LIFT THRU THE EVE HRS. ATTM BELIEVE THAT A FEW
STORMS WILL BECOM SEVERE THRU THE EVE HRS. MOST OF THE PRECIP WILL
END BEFORE MIDNIGHT A FEW SHWRS EXPECTED TO LINGER THRU THE OVRNGHT
HRS.

THE NW GULF WILL RMN IN THE TROPICAL AIR OVR THE WEEKEND WHEN
COMBINED W/ INSOLATION DAYTIME HEATING AND MID LVL SUPPORT THIS
WILL ENHANCE PRECIP THRU SUNDAY. PRECIP CHCS TO INCR ON SUNDAY AS
THE FIRST TO THE SEASONS COLD FRNTS DIVES SOUTH OUT OF CANADA ON
SATURDAY MRNG AND LOOKS TO APPROACH THE NW GULF SUNDAY EVE. FRNT
LOOKS TO KICK THRU THE AREA DRG THE OVRNGHT HOURS FM SUNDAY NIGHT
INTO MONDAY MORNING... W/ EXPECTED LOWS NEAR 60 ALONG THE COAST TO
THE MID 50S TWRDS AEX. AS COLDER AIR FILTERS IN WINDS IN THE 15 T0
20 MPH AND GUSTY ON MONDAY.

THE REST OF THE WEEK LOOKS TO SHAPE-UP NICELY THEREAFTER.

.PRELIM NUMBERS...
AEX 68/90/69/88/66/57/81 5536400
BPT 73/90/73/89/70/59/80 6536400
LCH 72/90/72/89/70/59/80 6536400
LFT 71/90/72/89/72/59/80 5636400

.LCH...NONE.

K. KUYPER

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 21, 1:19 PM CDT, 3 hours 38 minutes before
LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182-201-215-216-212100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
119 PM CDT FRI SEP 21 2001

...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON...

LOCALIZED WIND GUSTS CAPABLE OF KNOCKING DOWN TREE LIMBS AND POWER
LINES...ALONG WITH LOCALIZED RAINFALL RATES OF 2 TO 3 INCHES AN HOUR
WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH A FEW OF THE THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP THIS
AFTERNOON.

THE GREATEST RISK FOR THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE WEST AND SOUTH OF A
FORT POLK TO LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA LINE.

A MOIST...UNSTABLE AIRMASS AND DAYTIME HEATING WILL COMBINE TO
PRODUCE THE POSSIBILITY OF A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.

INTERESTS SHOULD STAY TUNED TO THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION FROM
NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE LOCAL MEDIA TODAY.

22

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 21, 2:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHVernon66 min
Sep 21, 2:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHSt. Mary22 min
Sep 21, 3:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHRapides62 min
Sep 21, 4:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHIberia66 min
Sep 21, 5:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHSaint Landry60 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.