Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 123, NWS Lake Charles, LA

October 11, 2001Hardin County, Jefferson County, Texas

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Oct 11, 2001, 11:37 AM CDT for Hardin County, Jefferson County, Texas. It was in force for 53 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
Oct 11, 2001, 11:37 AM CDT (16:37 UTC)
Expired
Oct 11, 2001, 12:30 PM CDT
In force
53 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Hardin County, TX, Jefferson County, TX

The radar

The Houston radar (KHGX), 105 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:38 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
Oct 11, 12:30 PM CDTThunderstorm WindChina, TX

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Oct 11, 8:00 AM CDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 4.6 hours before the alert went out and 110 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 2001-10-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1805 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 2001-10-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 95 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1805 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
496 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
95 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
120 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.2
Supercell composite
5.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

349 
WUUS54 KLCH 111637
SVRLCH
TXC199-245-111730-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
1137 AM CDT THU OCT 11 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  HARDIN COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS
  JEFFERSON COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS

* UNTIL 1230 PM CDT

* AT 1135 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER SOUR LAKE...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

* THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  BEVIL OAKS AND CHINA BY 1150 AM CDT
  LUMBERTON BY 1205 PM CDT
  BEAUMONT BY 1210 PM CDT

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

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 100 PM CDT. REMEMBER... 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES.

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

LAT...LON 3022 9449 3004 9447 3004 9411 3028 9413

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 Oct 11, 9:36 AM CDT, 2 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 11, 9:36 AM CDT, 2 hours 1 minute before
SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
936 AM CDT THU OCT 11 2001

.THIS AFTERNOON...
SEVERE WEATHER MAY BE A PROBLEM TODAY. A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT
FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS UNTIL 1 PM CDT.

.MORNING SOUNDING...
A QUICK PERUSAL REVEALS AN UNSTABLE ENVIRONMENT. I MODIFIED THE
SOUNDING USING THE FORECAST MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 82 DEG F. LIFTING
THE SURFACE PARCEL...THE ALGORITHM COMPUTES CAPES NEAR 3000 J PER
KG...BOUNDED BELOW BY THE LFC (1.7 KFT) AND ABOVE BY EQUILIBRIUM
LEVEL (48.5 KFT).

MARGINAL HAIL THREAT...THE FREEZING LEVEL IS RATHER HIGH AT 14.0 KFT.
THE PARCEL FREEZING LEVEL IS EVEN HIGHER AT 17.5 KFT. SUPERCOOLED
LIQUID WATER WILL EXIST OVER A 3.5 KFT LAYER. ALSO...MINOR COLD AIR
ADVECTION IS NOTED AT MID TROPOSPHERE (AROUND 700 MB).

LOOKING AT PRECIPITABLE WATER (PW)...I COMPUTE ANOTHER STABILITY
MEASURE. USING THE SOLOT METHOD...I COMPUTE PW FOR THE SURFACE-700 MB
LAYER AT 1.4 INCHES. THE TOTAL PW IS 2.0 INCHES. THE PW DEFICIT IS
0.6 INCHES...MOST OF THE WATER (IN THE FORM OF VAPOR) IS IN THE
LOWEST LAYERS.

OTHER INDICES WORTH NOTING...THE K-INDEX IS 41 (SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS). THE TOTAL-TOTALS IS 52 (FEW SEVERE STORMS). THE
SWEAT INDEX IS 400 (A FEW TORNADIC STORMS POSSIBLE).

FINAL NOTE...THE ALGORITHM COMPUTES STORM MOTION AT 240 DEG AT 15 KT.
THIS IS THE SHEAR WISE MOTION. SEVERE WEATHER WILL LIKELY FOLLOW
CROSS SHEAR MOTION. THE MOTION OF THE SLOWER RIGHT MOVER IS 150 DEG
...WHILE THE MOTION OF THE FASTER LEFT MOVER IS 330 DEG.

.PREVAILING NUMBERS...
AEX 78/69/80/64/69/45 875830
BPT 81/72/82/67/70/51 764830
LCH 82/72/82/68/70/50 765840
LFT 80/72/82/69/70/50 776750

.LCH...NONE.

TRARES

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 11, 10:22 AM CDTTornado WarningLCHHardin53 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 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.