Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Lake Charles, LA

August 21, 2003Beauregard Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this tornado warning at Aug 21, 2003, 3:35 PM CDT for Beauregard Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 40 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
Aug 21, 2003, 3:35 PM CDT (20:35 UTC)
Expired
Aug 21, 2003, 4:15 PM CDT
In force
40 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Beauregard Parish, LA, Calcasieu Parish, LA

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 8.6 hours before the alert went out and 45 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 2003-08-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3125 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 2003-08-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -25 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
3125 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
627 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-25 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-15 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KLCH 212035
TORLCH
LAC011-019-212100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
333 PM CDT THU AUG 21 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  BEAUREGARD PARISH IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA
  CALCASIEU PARISH IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA

* UNTIL 415 PM CDT

* AT 327 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  A DEVELOPING TORNADO 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF RAGLEY...MOVING SOUTHWEST AT
  10 MPH.

* THIS TORNADIC STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  ORETTA...DE QUINCY BY 400 PM 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 3049 9320 3066 9327 3054 9358 3036 9347

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 21, 12:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAvoyelles, Saint Landry62 min
Aug 21, 2:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAllen55 min
Aug 21, 3:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHJefferson Davis55 min
Aug 21, 4:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHCalcasieu64 min
Aug 21, 5:15 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH60 min
Aug 21, 5:15 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH60 min
Aug 21, 5:15 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH60 min
Aug 21, 5:15 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH60 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Louisiana, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes in 2003

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.