Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Watches in 2008
Tornado Watch 30
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 31, 2008, 12:35 PM CST for 28 parishes in Louisiana; 11 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jan 31, 2008, 12:35 PM CST (18:35 UTC)
- Expired
- Jan 31, 2008, 7:00 PM CST
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 39 counties
Ascension Parish, LA, Assumption Parish, LA, East Baton Rouge Parish, LA, East Feliciana Parish, LA, Iberia Parish, LA, Iberville Parish, LA, Jefferson Parish, LA, Lafayette Parish, LA, Lafourche Parish, LA, Livingston Parish, LA, Orleans Parish, LA, Plaquemines Parish, LA, Pointe Coupee Parish, LA, Saint Bernard Parish, LA, Saint Charles Parish, LA, Saint Helena Parish, LA, Saint James Parish, LA, Saint John the Baptist Parish, LA, Saint Landry Parish, LA, Saint Martin Parish, LA, Saint Tammany Parish, LA, St. Mary Parish, LA, Tangipahoa Parish, LA, Terrebonne Parish, LA, Vermilion Parish, LA, Washington Parish, LA, West Baton Rouge Parish, LA, West Feliciana Parish, LA, Forrest County, MS, George County, MS, Greene County, MS, Hancock County, MS, Harrison County, MS, Jackson County, MS, Lamar County, MS, Marion County, MS, Pearl River County, MS, Perry County, MS, Stone County, MS
What SPC expected
The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.
- Two or more tornadoes
- 40%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 30%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 30%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 20%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 10%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 70%
Warnings issued inside it
23 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 31, 2:00 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Livingston, Saint Helena, Tangipahoa | 45 min |
| Jan 31, 2:27 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Saint Helena, Tangipahoa, Washington | 33 min |
| Jan 31, 2:37 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Livingston, Saint Helena, Saint Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington | 38 min |
| Jan 31, 2:49 PM CST | Tornado Warning | LIX | Tangipahoa, Washington | 26 min |
| Jan 31, 3:03 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Marion | 42 min |
| Jan 31, 3:15 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Saint Tammany, Washington | 45 min |
| Jan 31, 3:37 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Forrest, Lamar | 38 min |
| Jan 31, 3:56 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Saint Tammany, Washington | 49 min |
| Jan 31, 3:57 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Ascension, Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, Saint Charles, Saint James and 2 more | 48 min |
| Jan 31, 4:13 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Forrest | 33 min |
| Jan 31, 4:17 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Perry | 43 min |
| Jan 31, 4:20 PM CST | Tornado Warning | JAN | Forrest | 25 min |
| Jan 31, 4:32 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Greene, Perry, Wayne | 43 min |
| Jan 31, 4:42 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Saint Tammany | 63 min |
| Jan 31, 4:43 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles and 1 more | 47 min |
| Jan 31, 4:44 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | George, Greene, Perry, Stone | 61 min |
| Jan 31, 4:58 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Greene | 47 min |
| Jan 31, 5:03 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | George, Greene, Perry | 32 min |
| Jan 31, 5:16 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Greene, Wayne | 45 min |
| Jan 31, 5:24 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | George, Greene | 37 min |
| Jan 31, 5:29 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Jefferson, Lafourche, Plaquemines, Saint Bernard | 46 min |
| Jan 31, 5:40 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LIX | Hancock, Harrison, Jackson | 65 min |
| Jan 31, 6:09 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | George | 34 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
Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 12:00Z, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 94 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
- 794 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 54 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 296 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 357 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 311838
SEL0
SPC WW 311838
LAZ000-MSZ000-CWZ000-010100-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 30
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1235 PM CST THU JAN 31 2008
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
LARGE PART OF SOUTHERN LOUISIANA
PARTS OF SOUTHEASTERN MISSISSIPPI
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 1235 PM UNTIL
700 PM CST.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 60 STATUTE
MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 10 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF
INTRACOASTAL CITY LOUISIANA TO 40 MILES EAST OF GULFPORT
MISSISSIPPI. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE
ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU0).
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 29. WATCH NUMBER 29 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 1235
PM CST.
DISCUSSION...SQUALL LINE SWRN MS INTO SWRN LA CONTINUES EWD. WARM
FRONT HAS MOVED INLAND AHEAD OF THE LINE ACROSS SERN LA AND EXPECTED
TO MOVE ONSHORE SERN MS PRIOR TO THE LINE PASSAGE LATER THIS
AFTERNOON. STRONG SHEAR PROFILES AND MLCAPES TO AROUND 1000 J/KG IN
WARM SECTOR SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT OF SUPERCELLS BOTH EMBEDDED AND JUST
AHEAD OF THE SQUALL LINE. IN ADDITION TO WIND DAMAGE...TORNADOS
WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH ANY ROTATING UPDRAFT.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.
...HALESSPC 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, 5:51 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Acadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron and 10 more | 7 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, 3:25 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Ascension, Assumption, Livingston, Orleans, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles and 5 more | 95 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2008Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 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.