Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2004

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 26, NWS Lake Charles, LA

May 1, 2004Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 1, 2004, 3:28 AM CDT for Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 62 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: May 1, 2004, 3:28 AM CDT (08:28 UTC)
Expired: May 1, 2004, 4:30 AM CDT
In force: 62 min
Issued by: NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Calcasieu Parish, LA

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 47 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:28 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 49 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: 493 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -85 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 688 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 155 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 260 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.4
Supercell composite: 6.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

188 
WUUS54 KLCH 010828
SVRLCH
LAC019-010930-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
329 AM CDT SAT MAY 1 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CALCASIEU PARISH IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA

* UNTIL 430 AM CDT

* AT 326 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING QUARTER SIZE HAIL...AND
  DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH.  THIS STORM WAS LOCATED OVER
  STARKS...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  STARKS BY 335 AM CDT

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH...DESTRUCTIVE
HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING AND TORRENTIAL RAIN.

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

LAT...LON 3034 9375 3018 9365 3041 9338 3040 9369

$$

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Lake Charles, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 1, 3:26 AM CDT, 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 1, 3:26 AM CDT, 2 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
326 AM CDT SAT MAY 1 2004

.DISCUSSION...
AT MID AND UPPER LEVELS...WEAK SHORT WAVE OVER CENTRAL TEXAS EARLY
THIS MORNING WILL MOVE INTO WESTERN LOUISIANA THIS EVENING. MAIN
TROUGH WILL BE MOVING EAST ACROSS CENTRAL TEXAS AT SUNSET. TROUGH
AXIS SHOULD MOVE INTO THE FORECAST AREA MONDAY. RIDGING WILL DEVELOP
MONDAY NIGHT. RIDGE AXIS WILL SHIFT EAST OUT OF THE ROCKIES INTO THE
PLAINS WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

MODERATE TO STRONG LOW TO MID LEVEL INSTABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH
APPROACHING SHORT WAVE WILL SPREAD EAST OVER THE AREA TODAY TO OVER
THE EASTERN EXTREMES OF THE FORECAST AREA AT SUNSET. MORE STABLE
AIR WILL MOVE IN AS MID TO UPPER LEVEL RIDGING DEVELOPS.

AT THE SURFACE...THE FRONTAL TROUGH IS PROGGED TO MOVE TO ABOUT
LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA AT SUNSET THIS EVENING. LOTS OF MOISTURE
AHEAD OF THE FRONT ALONG WITH THE PREVIOUSLY MODERATE TO STRONG
INSTABILITY WILL MAKE FOR HIGH POPS AREA WIDE TODAY. FOR TONIGHT WILL
HAVE LIKELY POPS NEAR AND AHEAD OF WHERE THE FRONT IS EXPECTED AT
SUNSET WITH CHANCE POPS BEHIND THE FRONT. DRY AIR SHOULD HAVE MOVED
IN BEHIND THE FRONT AREA WIDE BY SUNRISE SUNDAY. DRY WEATHER AND HIGH
PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY.

DURING THE EXTENDED PERIOD...TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...IT LOOKS LIKE
THE DRY HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL PERSIST OVER THE REGION.
&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
LCH  77  57  76  52 /  90  60   0   0
BPT  76  57  78  53 /  90  50   0   0
AEX  75  54  75  47 / 100  50   0   0
LFT  79  58  74  51 /  90  70   5   0
&&

.LCH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
LA...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WEST OF CAMERON...GMZ450-GMZ470.
TX...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY....GMZ450-GMZ470.
&&

20

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 30, 4:22 AM CDT, 23 hours 6 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
422 AM CDT FRI APR 30 2004

GMZ450-455-470-475-LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182-201-215-216-
302030-
ACADIA-ALLEN-AVOYELLES-BEAUREGARD-CALCASIEU-CAMERON-
CAMERON, LA TO HIGH ISLAND, TX FROM 20 TO 60 NM-
CAMERON, LA TO HIGH ISLAND, TX OUT 20 NM-EVANGELINE-HARDIN-IBERIA-
JASPER-JEFFERSON-JEFFERSON DAVIS-LAFAYETTE-
LOWER ATCHAFALAYA RIVER TO CAMERON, LA FROM 20 TO 60 NM-
LOWER ATCHAFALAYA RIVER TO CAMERON, LA OUT 20 NM-LOWER ST MARTIN-
NEWTON-ORANGE-RAPIDES-ST LANDRY-ST MARY-TYLER-UPPER ST MARTIN-
VERMILION-VERNON-
422 AM CDT FRI APR 30 2004

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT...
AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA TODAY PRODUCING
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE BEST CHANCE FOR
THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTH-CENTRAL LOUISIANA
WHERE A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE. THE SYSTEM WILL MOVE
TO THE EAST OF THE AREA TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...
THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY ON SATURDAY AS A STRONG COLD FRONT PUSHES
ACROSS THE AREA. SOME THUNDERSTORMS COULD BE SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL
AND GUSTY WINDS POSSIBLE. THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL PUSH
OFFSHORE SATURDAY NIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY MORNING WITH DRY WEATHER
RETURNING SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO MID-WEEK.
SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT
ANTICIPATED.

WILEY

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 1, 12:42 AM CDT, 2 hours 46 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
1242 AM CDT SAT MAY 01 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1115 PM     HAIL             12 NW PORT ARTHUR       30.02N 94.07W
04/30/2004  1.00 INCH        JEFFERSON          TX   BROADCAST MEDIA

1117 PM     HAIL             12 NW PORT ARTHUR       30.02N 94.07W
04/30/2004  0.75 INCH        JEFFERSON          TX   PUBLIC

&&

JM

Local storm report, May 1, 3:04 AM CDT, 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
304 AM CDT SAT MAY 01 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0208 AM     TSTM WND DMG     LAKE CHARLES            30.21N 93.20W
05/01/2004                   CALCASIEU          LA   PUBLIC

            TREE DOWN ON MILL STREET

0215 AM     HAIL             CARLYSS                 30.18N 93.37W
05/01/2004  0.25 INCH        CALCASIEU          LA   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0230 AM     HAIL             LAKE CHARLES            30.21N 93.20W
05/01/2004  0.75 INCH        CALCASIEU          LA   BROADCAST MEDIA

&&

JM

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 30, 7:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Vernon	51 min
Apr 30, 8:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Vernon	58 min
Apr 30, 10:37 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	LCH		53 min
May 1, 1:22 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Calcasieu, Cameron	53 min
May 1, 2:02 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	LCH	Calcasieu	3 hr
May 1, 2:11 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Calcasieu	64 min
May 1, 2:26 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Vermilion	94 min
May 1, 4:48 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Allen	57 min
May 1, 5:04 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Vermilion	56 min
May 1, 5:19 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Vernon	56 min
May 1, 1:23 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	LCH		67 min
May 1, 2:38 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	LCH		67 min
May 1, 2:38 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	LCH		67 min
May 1, 3:41 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	LCH		64 min
May 1, 3:41 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	LCH		64 min
May 1, 4:48 PM CDT	Special Marine Warning	LCH		117 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Louisiana, 2004 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2004

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.