Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 53, NWS Lake Charles, LA

July 23, 2002Avoyelles Parish, Rapides Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 23, 2002, 5:44 PM CDT for Avoyelles Parish, Rapides Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 61 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 23, 2002, 5:44 PM CDT (22:44 UTC)
Expired
Jul 23, 2002, 6:45 PM CDT
In force
61 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Avoyelles Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 166 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 2002-07-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1339 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 2002-07-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -11 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
1339 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-101 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
934 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
1 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-11 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
3 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.

833 
WUUS54 KLCH 232244
SVRLCH
LAC009-079-232345-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
544 PM CDT TUE JUL 23 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 645 PM CDT

* AT 544 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF EFFIE...MOVING SOUTH AT 15
  MPH.

* THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  EFFIE BY 555 PM CDT
  BORDELONVILLE BY 625 PM CDT

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

THIS THUNDERSTORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING VERY LARGE HAIL WHICH COULD
CAUSE SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO PROPERTY.

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

LAT...LON 3144 9227 3129 9240 3103 9190 3129 9185

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 Jul 23, 4:35 PM CDT, 1 hour 9 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 23, 4:35 PM CDT, 1 hour 9 minutes before
SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
435 PM CDT TUE JUL 23 2002

LOOKS LIKE A REPEAT OF LAST NIGHT MAY BE SETTING UP ACROSS THE
REGION WITH THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY DEVELOPING A LITTLE EARLIER THAN
EXPECTED.

THE FOCUS OF THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WILL LIKELY OCCUR WHERE
NUMEROUS OUTFLOWS CONVERGE AND SIGNIFICANT LIFT OCCURS.

THE STRONGEST OUTFLOW CONVERGENCE NEAR ALLEN AND BEAUREGARD
PARISHES WILL BE THE MAIN FOCUS OF STRONG THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT
INITIALLY THIS AFTERNOON WITH FUTURE DEVELOPMENT EXPECTED FURTHER
SOUTH AS THE EVENING PROGRESSES.

WILL UPDATE THE ZONES ACCORDINGLY.

.LCH...NONE.

.UPDATED NUMBERS...
       WE    TH    FR SA   T W T F
BPT 74/94 75/94 76/94 77  4313242
LCH 75/94 74/93 76/93 77  4413342
LFT 75/94 76/94 75/93 77  2425252
AEX 74/93 74/92 74/95 76  4425341

MAYEAUX/ALLEN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 22, 7:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHSaint Landry53 min
Jul 22, 7:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHEvangeline59 min
Jul 22, 7:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHVernon63 min
Jul 22, 7:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAllen59 min
Jul 22, 8:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAcadia66 min
Jul 22, 8:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHJefferson Davis64 min
Jul 22, 8:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHBeauregard59 min
Jul 22, 8:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHVermilion63 min
Jul 22, 10:00 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH60 min
Jul 23, 5:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAllen62 min
Jul 23, 5:28 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH62 min
Jul 23, 6:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAllen30 min
Jul 23, 6:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAllen29 min
Jul 23, 6:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHJefferson Davis62 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Louisiana, 2002Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2002

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.