Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Watches in 2002
Tornado Watch 791
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Dec 19, 2002, 2:25 AM CST for 4 states. It was in force for 8 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Dec 19, 2002, 2:25 AM CST (08:25 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 19, 2002, 10:00 AM CST
- In force
- 8 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 48 counties
Ashley County, AR, Bradley County, AR, Chicot County, AR, Union County, AR, Avoyelles Parish, LA, Bienville Parish, LA, Caldwell Parish, LA, Catahoula Parish, LA, Claiborne Parish, LA, Concordia Parish, LA, De Soto Parish, LA, East Carroll Parish, LA, Franklin Parish, LA, Grant Parish, LA, Jackson Parish, LA, LaSalle Parish, LA, Lincoln Parish, LA, Madison Parish, LA, Morehouse Parish, LA, Natchitoches Parish, LA, Ouachita Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA, Red River Parish, LA, Richland Parish, LA, Sabine Parish, LA, Tensas Parish, LA, Union Parish, LA, Vernon Parish, LA, West Carroll Parish, LA, Winn Parish, LA, Attala County, MS, Carroll County, MS, Choctaw County, MS, Claiborne County, MS, Holmes County, MS, Humphreys County, MS, Issaquena County, MS, Leflore County, MS, Montgomery County, MS, Sharkey County, MS, Warren County, MS, Washington County, MS, Yazoo County, MS, Angelina County, TX, Sabine County, TX, San Augustine County, TX, Shelby County, TX, Trinity County, TX
Warnings issued inside it
15 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 19, 2:48 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Ashley | 47 min |
| Dec 19, 3:18 AM CST | Tornado Warning | SHV | Bienville, Lincoln | 42 min |
| Dec 19, 3:46 AM CST | Flash Flood Warning | LZK | Arkansas, Bradley, Calhoun, Desha, Drew | 4 hr |
| Dec 19, 3:53 AM CST | Tornado Warning | SHV | Bienville, Natchitoches | 52 min |
| Dec 19, 3:54 AM CST | Tornado Warning | JAN | Ashley | 61 min |
| Dec 19, 3:55 AM CST | Tornado Warning | JAN | Morehouse | 15 min |
| Dec 19, 4:18 AM CST | Tornado Warning | SHV | Jackson, Lincoln | 42 min |
| Dec 19, 4:58 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Chicot | 32 min |
| Dec 19, 6:26 AM CST | Tornado Warning | SHV | Grant | 64 min |
| Dec 19, 7:41 AM CST | Tornado Warning | JAN | Catahoula | 44 min |
| Dec 19, 8:13 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Tensas | 47 min |
| Dec 19, 8:24 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Concordia | 46 min |
| Dec 19, 8:31 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Humphreys, Sunflower | 24 min |
| Dec 19, 9:09 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Warren | 46 min |
| Dec 19, 9:53 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Claiborne, Copiah | 27 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 00:00Z, 8.4 hours before the alert went out and 109 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1623 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -1 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 618 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 69 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 291 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 354 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 3.8
- Supercell composite
- 12.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WWUS20 KWNS 190843 SEL1 SPC WW 190845 ARZ000-LAZ000-MSZ000-TXZ000-191600- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 791 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 245 AM CST THU DEC 19 2002 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF FAR SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS NORTHERN LOUISIANA WESTERN AND CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI FAR EAST-CENTRAL TEXAS EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY MORNING FROM 245 AM UNTIL 1000 AM CST. TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 95 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES WEST OF FORT POLK LOUISIANA TO 25 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF GREENVILLE MISSISSIPPI. 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 788. WATCH NUMBER 788 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 245 AM CST. CONTINUE...WW 789...WW 790... DISCUSSION...DESPITE LIMITED INSTABILITY ACROSS THE LOWER MS RIVER VALLEY REGION...LARGE SCALE ASCENT WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THUNDERSTORMS INTO THE MID MORNING. COMBINATION OF STRONG SHEAR AND MID/UPPER LEVEL STORM RELATIVE WIND FIELDS...ACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE IN THE FORM OF SMALL LINES/BOW ECHOES AND DISCRETE SUPERCELLS. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND 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 400. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23045. ...EVANS 310,0951 333,0921 333,0885 310,0920
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 18, 8:55 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Chicot, Cleveland, Columbia and 8 more | 6 hr |
| Dec 18, 9:05 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Crittenden, Lee, Mississippi, Phillips, St. Francis | 6 hr |
| Dec 19, 12:30 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Evangeline | 7 hr |
| Dec 19, 6:30 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Cameron and 26 more | 6 hr |
| Dec 19, 9:35 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles and 2 more | 5 hr |
| Dec 19, 11:40 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Ascension, Assumption, Livingston, Orleans, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles and 7 more | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2002Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2002Tornado Watches in Texas, 2002Every 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.