Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 63

March 31, 200224 parishes in Louisiana; 13 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Mar 31, 2002, 12:00 AM CST for 24 parishes in Louisiana; 13 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Mar 31, 2002, 12:00 AM CST (06:00 UTC)
Expired: Mar 31, 2002, 5:00 AM CST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 37 counties

Acadia Parish, LA, Avoyelles Parish, LA, Cameron Parish, LA, Catahoula Parish, LA, Concordia Parish, LA, East Baton Rouge Parish, LA, East Carroll Parish, LA, East Feliciana Parish, LA, Evangeline Parish, LA, Franklin Parish, LA, Iberia Parish, LA, Iberville Parish, LA, Jefferson Davis Parish, LA, Lafayette Parish, LA, LaSalle Parish, LA, Madison Parish, LA, Pointe Coupee Parish, LA, Richland Parish, LA, Saint Landry Parish, LA, Saint Martin Parish, LA, Tensas Parish, LA, Vermilion Parish, LA, West Baton Rouge Parish, LA, West Feliciana Parish, LA, Adams County, MS, Amite County, MS, Claiborne County, MS, Copiah County, MS, Franklin County, MS, Hinds County, MS, Issaquena County, MS, Jefferson County, MS, Lincoln County, MS, Madison County, MS, Warren County, MS, Wilkinson County, MS, Yazoo County, MS

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 31, 12:14 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	East Carroll	46 min
Mar 31, 12:30 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Franklin, Madison, Richland	45 min
Mar 31, 1:04 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Issaquena	26 min
Mar 31, 1:12 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Catahoula, Concordia	48 min
Mar 31, 1:27 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Warren	18 min
Mar 31, 1:43 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	JAN	East Carroll, Morehouse, West Carroll	4 hr
Mar 31, 1:52 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Yazoo	38 min
Mar 31, 2:50 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Franklin	40 min
Mar 31, 3:08 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	JAN	Adams, Franklin	3 hr
Mar 31, 4:55 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	JAN	Jefferson	2 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 143 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: 2027 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 712 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 97 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 121 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.5
Supercell composite: 6.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000
WWUS20 KWNS 310542
SEL3  
SPC WW 310538
LAZ000-MSZ000-CWZ000-311100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 63
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1138 PM CST SAT MAR 30 2002

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   EASTERN AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA                          
   SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI                        
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS                     

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY MORNING FROM MIDNIGHT CST UNTIL 500 AM CST.

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

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 55 STATUTE MILES
EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES SOUTHWEST OF INTRACOASTAL
CITY LOUISIANA TO 45 MILES NORTHWEST OF JACKSON MISSISSIPPI.

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR 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.  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE
TORNADOES.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REPLACES
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 61...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 62. 
WATCH NUMBER 61...62 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER MIDNIGHT CST.

DISCUSSION...LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER LA WILL CONTINUE TO
TRACK SLOWLY EASTWARD INTO WESTERN MS.  AIRMASS AHEAD OF STORMS
REMAINS MODERATELY UNSTABLE...WITH SUFFICIENTLY STRONG WESTERLY MID
LEVEL WINDS TO PROMOTE DAMAGING WINDS IN STRONGER CELLS.  

AVIATION...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.

...HART

324,0894 292,0913 292,0932 324,0913

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 30, 6:30 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Catahoula, Concordia, East Carroll, Franklin, Madison, Morehouse and 3 more	6 hr
Mar 30, 9:00 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Acadia, Allen, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo and 21 more	5 hr
Mar 31, 8:00 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Saint Bernard	5 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Louisiana, 2002 Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Mississippi, 2002 Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.