Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Watches in 2001

Tornado Watch 40

March 2, 200123 parishes in Louisiana; 15 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 2, 2001, 11:30 AM CST for 23 parishes in Louisiana; 15 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Mar 2, 2001, 11:30 AM CST (17:30 UTC)
Expired: Mar 2, 2001, 5:00 PM CST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 38 counties

Ascension Parish, LA, Assumption Parish, LA, East Baton Rouge Parish, LA, East Feliciana Parish, LA, Iberia Parish, LA, Iberville Parish, LA, Jefferson Parish, LA, Lafourche Parish, LA, Livingston Parish, LA, Orleans Parish, LA, Pointe Coupee Parish, LA, Saint Bernard Parish, LA, Saint Charles Parish, LA, Saint Helena Parish, LA, Saint James Parish, LA, Saint John the Baptist Parish, LA, Saint Martin Parish, LA, Saint Tammany Parish, LA, St. Mary Parish, LA, Tangipahoa Parish, LA, Terrebonne Parish, LA, Washington Parish, LA, West Baton Rouge Parish, LA, Forrest County, MS, George County, MS, Greene County, MS, Hancock County, MS, Harrison County, MS, Jackson County, MS, Jones County, MS, Lamar County, MS, Marion County, MS, Pearl River County, MS, Perry County, MS, Pike County, MS, Stone County, MS, Walthall County, MS, Wayne County, MS

Warnings issued inside it

13 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 2, 1:09 PM CST	Tornado Warning	JAN	Covington, Jones	51 min
Mar 2, 1:45 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LIX	Walthall	30 min
Mar 2, 2:01 PM CST	Tornado Warning	JAN	Marion	29 min
Mar 2, 2:02 PM CST	Tornado Warning	LIX	Walthall	18 min
Mar 2, 2:25 PM CST	Tornado Warning	JAN	Marion	35 min
Mar 2, 2:26 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Wayne	49 min
Mar 2, 2:34 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Lamar	56 min
Mar 2, 2:48 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Forrest	57 min
Mar 2, 2:55 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Jones	50 min
Mar 2, 3:15 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	JAN	Forrest, Jones, Lamar, Marion	3 hr
Mar 2, 3:29 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Wayne	3 hr
Mar 2, 3:37 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Perry	53 min
Mar 2, 3:55 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Greene, Wayne	35 min

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 12:00Z, 5.5 hours before the alert went out and 84 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 948 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 584 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 115 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 133 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.5
Supercell composite: 4.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS9 KMKC 021704
SEL0  

SEL0  
MKC WW 021657
LAZ000-MSZ000-CWZ000-022300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 40
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1057 AM CST FRI MAR 2 2001

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA                          
   SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI                        
   COASTAL WATERS                     

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 1130 AM UNTIL 500
PM CST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 65 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES SOUTH OF LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA TO 55
MILES NORTHEAST OF GULFPORT MISSISSIPPI.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.


DISCUSSION...AIRMASS HAS DESTABILIZED WITH HEATING ACROSS SERN LA
AND SRN MS WITH CAPES NOW TO 2500 J/KG.  SHEAR PROFILES ARE
FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELLS WITH HELICITIES FROM 200-300 M2/S2 AS LOW
LEVEL SWLY FLOW INCREASES TO 30-40KT.  LINE OF STORMS NOW
DEVELOPING INTO SRN LA WILL INCREASE IN INTENSITY WITH ADDITIONAL
STORMS LIKELY IN UNSTABLE AIRMASS AHEAD OF LINE.  SUPERCELLS AND
ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE LIKELY  PARTICULARLY AHEAD OF LINE.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.


...HALES

;300,0882 284,0915 303,0915 315,0882;

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2001 Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2001 Every tornado watch 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.