Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Watches in 2002

Tornado Watch 62

March 30, 200227 parishes in Louisiana; 9 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 30, 2002, 9:00 PM CST for 27 parishes in Louisiana; 9 counties in Texas. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Mar 30, 2002, 9:00 PM CST (03:00 UTC)
Expired: Mar 31, 2002, 2:00 AM CST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 36 counties

Acadia Parish, LA, Allen Parish, LA, Beauregard Parish, LA, Bienville Parish, LA, Bossier Parish, LA, Caddo Parish, LA, Calcasieu Parish, LA, Caldwell Parish, LA, Cameron Parish, LA, Claiborne Parish, LA, De Soto Parish, LA, Evangeline Parish, LA, Grant Parish, LA, Jackson Parish, LA, Jefferson Davis Parish, LA, LaSalle Parish, LA, Lincoln Parish, LA, Morehouse Parish, LA, Natchitoches Parish, LA, Ouachita Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA, Red River Parish, LA, Sabine Parish, LA, Union Parish, LA, Vernon Parish, LA, Webster Parish, LA, Winn Parish, LA, Hardin County, TX, Jasper County, TX, Jefferson County, TX, Newton County, TX, Orange County, TX, Sabine County, TX, San Augustine County, TX, Shelby County, TX, Tyler County, TX

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 30, 9:14 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Jefferson	61 min
Mar 30, 10:11 PM CST	Tornado Warning	SHV	Sabine	34 min
Mar 30, 10:23 PM CST	Tornado Warning	SHV	Natchitoches	52 min
Mar 31, 12:43 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Jefferson	32 min
Mar 31, 1:43 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	JAN	East Carroll, Morehouse, West Carroll	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 99 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 310242
SEL2  
SPC WW 310238
LAZ000-TXZ000-CWZ000-310800-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 62
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
838 PM CST SAT MAR 30 2002

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

   WESTERN AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA                          
   SOUTHEAST TEXAS                              
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS                     

EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING FROM 900 PM UNTIL
200 AM CST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 65 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES SOUTHEAST OF PORT ARTHUR TEXAS TO 55 MILES
NORTHWEST OF MONROE LOUISIANA.

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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 60.  WATCH NUMBER 60 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 900 PM CST. 
CONTINUE...WW 59...WW 61...

DISCUSSION...LINE OF SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES TO TRACK
SLOWLY EASTWARD ACROSS EASTERN TX AND INTO WESTERN LA.  ISOLATED
TORNADO THREAT WILL PERSIST FOR A FEW MORE HOURS.  HOWEVER...STORMS
MAY SLOWLY EVOLVE INTO SMALL BOWS/LEWPS WITH AN ENHANCED THREAT OF
GUSTY/DAMAGING WINDS.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.

...HART

330,0913 293,0923 293,0944 330,0934

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 31, 12:00 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Acadia, Avoyelles, Cameron, Catahoula, Concordia, East Baton Rouge and 18 more	5 hr
Mar 31, 8:00 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Saint Bernard	5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2002 Tornado Watches in Texas, 2002 Every tornado 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.