Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2008
Tornado Watch 29
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 31, 2008, 5:51 AM CST for 16 parishes in Louisiana; 18 counties in Texas. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jan 31, 2008, 5:51 AM CST (11:51 UTC)
- Expired
- Jan 31, 2008, 12:41 PM CST
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 34 counties
Acadia Parish, LA, Allen Parish, LA, Avoyelles Parish, LA, Beauregard Parish, LA, Calcasieu Parish, LA, Cameron Parish, LA, Evangeline Parish, LA, Iberia Parish, LA, Jefferson Davis Parish, LA, Lafayette Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA, Saint Landry Parish, LA, Saint Martin Parish, LA, St. Mary Parish, LA, Vermilion Parish, LA, Vernon Parish, LA, Brazoria County, TX, Chambers County, TX, Fort Bend County, TX, Galveston County, TX, Hardin County, TX, Harris County, TX, Jackson County, TX, Jasper County, TX, Jefferson County, TX, Liberty County, TX, Matagorda County, TX, Montgomery County, TX, Newton County, TX, Orange County, TX, Polk County, TX, San Jacinto County, TX, Tyler County, TX, Wharton County, TX
The radar
The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:53 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.
What SPC expected
The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.
- Two or more tornadoes
- 50%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 40%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 10%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 40%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 5%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 80%
Warnings issued inside it
7 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 31, 7:43 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | San Jacinto, Walker | 47 min |
| Jan 31, 8:32 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto | 28 min |
| Jan 31, 8:54 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto | 51 min |
| Jan 31, 9:23 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Hardin, Tyler | 52 min |
| Jan 31, 9:48 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HGX | Chambers, Harris, Liberty | 27 min |
| Jan 31, 10:05 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Beauregard, Calcasieu | 40 min |
| Jan 31, 10:29 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Calcasieu | 31 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 59 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2503 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 59 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 130 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 203 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 311156
SEL9
SPC WW 311156
LAZ000-TXZ000-CWZ000-311900-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 29
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
550 AM CST THU JAN 31 2008
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA
SOUTHEAST TEXAS
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 550 AM UNTIL
100 PM CST.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 115 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF
LAKE CHARLES LOUISIANA TO 35 MILES SOUTHEAST OF GALVESTON TEXAS.
FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU9).
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.
DISCUSSION...TSTMS EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN NUMBER AND STRENGTH IN
WAA ZONE INVOF NW GULF OF MEXICO SFC WAVE. OTHER STORMS EXPECTED TO
INTENSIFY FARTHER NW ALONG LEADING EDGE OF ASCENT ASSOCIATED WITH
STRONG TX PANHANDLE UPR VORT. VERY SHALLOW LAYER OF POLAR AIR NOW
OVER WW REGION EXPECTED TO ERODE STEADILY NWD THROUGH
MIDDAY...INCREASING CHANCES THAT STORMS IN THE NW GULF AND SE TX
WILL BECOME MORE NEARLY SFC-BASED AS THEY MOVE/DEVELOP NE INTO LA.
GIVEN STRENGTH OF WIND FIELD AND CONSIDERABLE SPEED/DIRECTIONAL
SHEAR...RESULTING SUPERCELLS COULD PRODUCE TORNADOES IN ADDITION TO
HIGH WIND AND HAIL.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
400. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22040.
...CORFIDISPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 30, 11:47 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bossier, Caddo, De Soto, Sabine | 2 hr |
| Jan 31, 5:23 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron | 3 hr |
| Jan 31, 9:57 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cameron | 2 hr |
| Jan 31, 12:06 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson and 15 more | 54 min |
| Jan 31, 12:35 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville and 22 more | 6 hr |
| Jan 31, 3:25 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Ascension, Assumption, Livingston, Orleans, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles and 5 more | 95 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Texas, 2008Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2008Every tornado watch in 2008
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.