Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 80, NWS Lake Charles, LA

August 26, 2002Jasper County, Newton County, Orange County, Texas

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 26, 2002, 6:30 PM CDT for Jasper County, Newton County, Orange County, Texas. It was in force for 60 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Aug 26, 2002, 6:30 PM CDT (23:30 UTC)
Expired
Aug 26, 2002, 7:30 PM CDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Jasper County, TX, Newton County, TX, Orange County, TX

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:30 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
Aug 26, 6:40 PM CDTThunderstorm WindDeweyville, TX
Aug 26, 6:40 PM CDTThunderstorm WindGist, TX
Aug 26, 6:52 PM CDTHail 0.75Vidor, 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.

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, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 82 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 2002-08-26Temperature 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°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 2002-08-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -12 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
1805 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-78 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1092 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
59 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 Aug 26, 2:18 PM CDT, 4 hours 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 26, 2:18 PM CDT, 4 hours 12 minutes before
SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
218 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2002

AT MID AND UPPER LEVELS...A SERIES OF SHORTWAVE TROUGHS WILL CONTINUE
TO ROTATE AROUND A LOW PRESSURE CENTER IN THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN
AREAS THROUGH WEDNESDAY...MAINLY EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA. LOW COULD
WEAKEN AND SLIP DOWN INTO ALABAMA THURSDAY. A LOW LEVEL FLOW WITH A
NORTHERLY...RATHER THAN SOUTHERLY...COMPONENT MEANS DEPTH OF MOIST
LAYER WILL NOT INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY...REMAIN AT OR BELOW 700 MB...
THROUGH THURSDAY. AFTERNOON HEATING WILL BE THE MAIN CONTRIBUTOR TO
INSTABILITY. THUS POPS WILL BE ON THE LOW SIDE...AND MOSTLY DURING
THE DAYTIME...THROUGH THURSDAY.

.PRELIM NUMBERS...
       TU    WE    TH   T W T
AEX 73/ 94 72/94 72/92 12-1-1
BPT 75/ 94 73/94 74/93 11-1-1
LCH 75/ 94 73/94 74/92 12-1-1
LFT 75/ 93 73/93 74/92 12-1-1

.LCH...OZONE ACTION DAY FOR HARDIN...JEFFERSON...AND ORANGE COUNTIES
IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS FOR TUESDAY...TXZ201...215 AND 216.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 26, 8:47 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH58 min
Aug 26, 1:25 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH65 min
Aug 26, 3:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHBeauregard, Calcasieu54 min
Aug 26, 4:32 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH58 min
Aug 26, 5:05 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH55 min
Aug 26, 5:05 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH55 min
Aug 26, 5:53 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH67 min
Aug 26, 5:53 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH67 min
Aug 26, 5:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHJasper, Newton59 min
Aug 26, 6:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHJefferson53 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.