Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Lake Charles, LA

October 20, 2002Cameron Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this tornado warning at Oct 20, 2002, 7:33 AM CDT for Cameron Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 42 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
Oct 20, 2002, 7:33 AM CDT (12:33 UTC)
Expired
Oct 20, 2002, 8:15 AM CDT
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Cameron Parish, LA

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 29 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 2002-10-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 951 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 2002-10-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 129 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
951 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
621 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
129 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
188 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
4.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

640 
WFUS54 KLCH 201233
TORLCH
LAC023-201315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
733 AM CDT SUN OCT 20 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CAMERON PARISH IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA

* UNTIL 815 AM CDT

* AT 731 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  A DEVELOPING TORNADO 19 MILES WEST OF GRAND CHENIER...MOVING EAST
  AT 20 MPH.

* THIS TORNADIC STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  GRAND CHENIER BY 815 AM CDT

A TORNADO MAY FORM AT ANY TIME - TAKE COVER NOW. ABANDON MOBILE HOMES
AND VEHICLES FOR MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. AVOID WINDOWS.

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

LAT...LON 2994 9337 2979 9338 2980 9318 2975 9295
          2994 9295

$$

20

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 20, 11:16 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH59 min
Oct 20, 11:58 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH62 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Louisiana, 2002Every tornado warning in 2002Tornadoes 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.