Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 8, NWS Lake Charles, LA

February 16, 2001Beauregard Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 16, 2001, 9:53 AM CST for Beauregard 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
Feb 16, 2001, 9:53 AM CST (15:53 UTC)
Expired
Feb 16, 2001, 11:00 AM CST
In force
67 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Beauregard Parish, LA

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 61 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:56 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
Feb 16, 9:58 AM CSTThunderstorm WindDe Ridder, 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, 3.9 hours before the alert went out and 62 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 2001-02-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 15 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 2001-02-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 179 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
15 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-156 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
762 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
179 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
207 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS54 KLCH 161554
SVRLCH
LAC011-161700-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
953 AM CST FRI FEB 16 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  BEAUREGARD PARISH IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA

* UNTIL 1100 AM CST

* AT 951 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 26 MILES SOUTH OF DE RIDDER...MOVING NORTHEAST
  AT 45 MPH.

* THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  DE RIDDER BY 1045 AM CST
  RAGLEY BY 1005 AM CST
  LONGVILLE BY 1010 AM CST

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

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 300 PM CST FRIDAY AFTERNOON
FOR SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA.

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

LAT...LON 3059 9347 3044 9332 3084 9300 3088 9330

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 Feb 16, 3:17 AM CST, 6 hours 36 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 16, 3:17 AM CST, 6 hours 36 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
315 AM CST FRI FEB 16 200

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS TODAY FOLLOWED BY MUCH COOLER CONDITIONS
FOR THE WEEKEND...

CURRENTLY...STRONG COLD FRONT LOCATED FROM NORTHWEST LA INTO
SOUTHEAST TEXAS. SQUALL LINE SEEMS TO BE FORMING ALONG THE
FRONT AND BEGINNING TO PUSH EAST AT 30-35 KT. UPPER LOW
SPINNING OVER WEST TEXAS LIFTING TO THE NORTHEAST. SOUTHERLY
WINDS INCREASING IN ADVANCE OF SYSTEM WITH PALESTINE TX PROFILER
SHOWING 50 KT AT 85H. SPC HAS ISSUED SVR WATCH 21 WHICH COVERS
TYLER...HARDIN AND EXTREME NORTHWESTERN PORTION OF JASPER
COUNTIES UNTIL 7 AM.

FORECAST PERIOD...
UPPER LOW WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE OFF TO THE NORTHEAST REACHING
THE MID-MISSISSIPPI VALLEY REGION BY FRIDAYS END. THIS SYSTEM WILL
PUSH THE COLD FRONT ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. FRONT SHOULD BE
NEARING THE WESTERN PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA BY 12Z...
KBPT/KLCH/KAEX BETWEEN 15 AND 18Z...KLFT/KPTN BETWEEN 18 AND 21Z.

SQUALL LINE WILL MOVE OUT AHEAD OF THE FRONT. WITH LOW LEVEL JET
OF 50-60 KT...RRQ OF UPPER JET STREAK NEAR THE AREA...AND CAPES
BETWEEN 1500 AND 2000 J/KG STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE WITH
MAIN THREAT DAMAGING DOWNBURST WINDS.

BEHIND THE FRONT/SQUALL LINE...NORTHWEST WINDS OF 15 TO 20 MPH
WITH HIGHER GUSTS WILL DROP TEMPERATURES QUICKLY INTO THE 50S.
OVERRUNNING RAINS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE.

DRIER AIR WILL MOVE OVER THE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT AS FLOW ALOFT
BECOMES NORTHWEST. THIS WILL LEAD TO DECREASING CLOUDINESS.

SATURDAY LOOKS MOSTLY SUNNY BUT GOOD COLD AIR ADVECTION WILL
HOLD TEMPS IN THE LOW TO MID 50S. AS WINDS LESSEN WITH MOSTLY
CLEAR SKIES ON SATURDAY NIGHT...FREEZING TEMPS WILL BE POSSIBLE
IN THE NORTHERN ZONES.

EXTENDED...QUIET WEATHER PATTERN WITH TEMPS MODERATING DURING
THE WEEK AS LOW LEVEL SOUTHERLY FLOW EXPECTED TO RETURN.

.LCH...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH v21 UNTIL 7AM...TXZ180-181-201.
       SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...GMZ450-455-470-475.

PRELIM NUMBERS...
AEX 73/38/50/32 9200
BPT 72/40/53/36 8200
LCH 73/40/54/35 8200
LFT 77/42/55/34 8300

7-RUA

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 16, 11:33 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAvoyelles27 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.