Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 124, NWS Lake Charles, LA

October 12, 2001Evangeline Parish, Rapides Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Oct 12, 2001, 4:23 PM CDT for Evangeline Parish, Rapides Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 52 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 12, 2001, 4:23 PM CDT (21:23 UTC)
Expired
Oct 12, 2001, 5:15 PM CDT
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Evangeline Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA

The radar

The Ft Polk radar (KPOE), 53 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:29 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 9.4 hours before the alert went out and 117 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 2001-10-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 534 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 2001-10-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 86 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
534 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-35 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
474 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
86 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
135 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

475 
WUUS54 KLCH 122122
SVRLCH
LAC039-079-122215-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
423 PM CDT FRI OCT 12 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  RAPIDES PARISH IN CENTRAL LOUISIANA
  EVANGELINE PARISH IN CENTRAL LOUISIANA

* UNTIL 515 PM CDT

* AT 423 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 8 MILES SOUTH OF CHENEYVILLE...MOVING NORTH AT
  25 MPH.

* THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  ST. LANDRY BY 425 PM CDT
  CHENEYVILLE BY 430 PM CDT
  LECOMPTE BY 440 PM CDT
  ECHO BY 450 PM CDT

DESTRUCTIVE WINDS UP TO 65 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED - TAKE COVER NOW 
VEHICLES AND MOBIL HOMES ARE NOT SAFE.

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 Oct 12, 1:46 PM CDT, 2 hours 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 12, 1:46 PM CDT, 2 hours 37 minutes before
SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION...COR
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
146 PM CDT FRI OCT 12 2001

...CORRECTION FOR AEX POP FROM 70 TO 40...

.TONIGHT...
GULF AIR ADVECTION STRENGTHENS. EXPECT INCREASING CLOUDINESS AS GULF
AIR OVERRIDES FILM OF DRIER AIR AT THE SURFACE. THE ATMOSPHERE IS
BEING PRE-CONDITIONED FOR UPCOMING HEAVY RAIN EVENT. INCOMING GULF
AIR SHOULD KEEP MINIMUMS ON THE WARM SIDE (ABOUT 10 TO 15 F DEGREES
ABOVE NORMAL).

.SATURDAY...
A HEAVY RAIN EVENT SEEMS LIKELY. STRONG ADIABATIC LIFT WILL BE IN
PLACE. THE NGM TRAJECTORY MODEL COMPUTES A NET VERTICAL DISPLACEMENT
OF THE 700 MB SURFACE AT +80 MB WITHIN A 12 HOUR PERIOD). OTHER
FACTORS NOTED ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA INCLUDE...700-300 MB THICKNESS
DIFLUENCE...700-300 MB QUASI-GEOSTROPHIC LIFT...AND 1000-500 MB MEAN
RH NEAR 90 PERCENT.

MARGINAL INSTABILITY SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY LIMITING FACTOR. THE 700-
300 MB LAPSE RATES ARE RUNNING NEAR 6.5 C DEG PER KM...WHICH IS
MARGINALLY UNSTABLE (FOR A CLOUDY AIR PARCEL UNDERGOING AVERAGE
ENTRAINMENT IN A MOIST ENVIRONMENT).

AFTER TALKING WITH THE SURROUNDING OFFICES...I HAVE DECIDED TO ISSUE
A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS...AND FOR WEST CENTRAL AND
SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA. ALSO I WILL ISSUE A SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
(HEAVY RAIN OUTLOOK) TO COVER THE REMAINDER (EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTH
CENTRAL LOUISIANA).

SPECIAL THANKS TO HOUSTON, NEW ORLEANS, SHREVEPORT OFFICES AND TO
THE HYDRO-METEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER.

.LCH...FFA (FLOOD WATCH) TXZ180>182-201-215-216
    ...                  LAZ027-030-031-041-042-051

.PRELIMINARY NUMBERS...
AEX 70/78/55/76/49/73/50 4830000
BPT 73/80/56/77/55/75/58 4800000
LCH 72/80/56/77/53/75/57 4800000
LFT 70/83/58/76/52/73/54 4830000

TRARES

In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 12, 3:46 PM CDT, 37 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES, LA
346 PM CDT FRI OCT 12 2001

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

0300 PM    5 E SOUR LAKE             TX   TORNADO
10/12/01   HARDIN                         A TORNADO WAS SEEN BY
                                          SEVERAL PEOPLE NEAR HWY
                                          105...NO DAMAGED SINCE IT
                                          WAS OVER UNPOPULATED ZONE.

0304 PM    2 W BEVIL OAKS            TX   TORNADO
10/12/01   JEFFERSON                      TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR
                                          HWY 105. SEVERAL REPORTS
                                          FROM MOTORISTS.

FN
Local storm report, Oct 12, 3:54 PM CDT, 29 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES, LA
354 PM CDT FRI OCT 12 2001

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

0340 PM    LUMBERTON                 TX   TORNADO
10/12/01   HARDIN                         TREES KNOCKED DOWN...NO
                                          INJURIES REPORTED.

FN
Special weather statement, Oct 12, 3:54 PM CDT, 29 minutes before
LAZ028-029-032-033-043>045-052>055-130900-

HEAVY RAIN OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
354 PM CDT FRI OCT 12 2001

...HEAVY RAINS FOR SATURDAY...

AN APPROACHING TEXAS COLD FRONT WILL LIFT A DEEP GULF AIR MASS...
THUS GENERATING TROPICAL DOWNPOURS. ALSO SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS
COULD BECOME SEVERE. AVERAGE RAINFALL TOTALS WILL RANGE BETWEEN ONE
AND TWO INCHES...WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS NEAR THREE INCHES. THE RAINS
SHOULD BE TAPERING OFF BY LATE AFTERNOON.

TRARES
Local storm report, Oct 12, 4:23 PM CDT, 0 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES, LA
423 PM CDT FRI OCT 12 2001

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

0405 PM    2 S EVADALE               TX   TORNADO
10/12/01   JASPER                         CONFIRMED TORNADO
                                          TOUCHDOWN BY THE EVADALE
                                          FIRE DEPARTMENT TRAVELING
                                          SOUTH ON HWY 105

FN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 12, 4:57 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHVernon63 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.