Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 2012

Tornado Warning 49, NWS Lake Charles, LA

March 21, 2012Vermilion Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this tornado warning at Mar 21, 2012, 4:35 AM CDT for Vermilion Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 25 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
Mar 21, 2012, 4:35 AM CDT (09:35 UTC)
Expired
Mar 21, 2012, 5:00 AM CDT
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Storm-based polygon

County Vermilion Parish, LA

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 98 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:39 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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Mar 20, 10:59 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 00:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 268 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 00:00Z on 2012-03-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1474 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 00:00Z on 2012-03-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 151 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1474 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
578 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
151 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
239 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.2
Supercell composite
8.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

688 
WFUS54 KLCH 210935
TORLCH
LAC113-211000-
/O.NEW.KLCH.TO.W.0049.120321T0935Z-120321T1000Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
435 AM CDT WED MAR 21 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL VERMILION PARISH IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA...
  THIS INCLUDES...PECAN ISLAND...FRESHWATER CITY...FORKED ISLAND...

* UNTIL 500 AM CDT

* AT 434 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 7 MILES WEST OF
  FRESHWATER CITY...MOVING NORTH AT 40 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  FRESHWATER CITY BY 440 AM CDT...
  PECAN ISLAND BY 445 AM CDT...
  FORKED ISLAND BY 500 AM CDT...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATES A TORNADO MAY FORM AT ANY
TIME. TAKE COVER NOW! ABANDON MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES. MOVE TO AN
INTERIOR ROOM OR HALLWAY ON THE LOWEST FLOOR AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 600 AM CDT WEDNESDAY MORNING
FOR SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA.

&&

PLEASE REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AT
337-477-5285 EXTENSION 1.

LAT...LON 2954 9236 2955 9251 2956 9253 2988 9251
      2984 9216 2952 9229 2953 9233
TIME...MOT...LOC 0935Z 186DEG 36KT 2954 9242

$$

21

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 20, 7:25 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHCalcasieu35 min
Mar 20, 7:29 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHBeauregard, Calcasieu, Vernon5 hr
Mar 20, 8:14 PM CDTRiver Flood WarningLCHVernon5 days
Mar 20, 8:14 PM CDTRiver Flood WarningLCHBeauregard, Calcasieu26 days
Mar 20, 8:20 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH55 min
Mar 20, 8:57 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHBeauregard, Calcasieu6 hr
Mar 20, 11:59 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH61 min
Mar 21, 12:19 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHBeauregard, Calcasieu, Vernon6 hr
Mar 21, 12:28 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHCalcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis62 min
Mar 21, 12:33 AM CDTTornado WarningLCHCalcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis27 min
Mar 21, 1:26 AM CDTTornado WarningLCHJefferson Davis19 min
Mar 21, 1:31 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAcadia, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, Vermilion59 min
Mar 21, 1:50 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAllen, Jefferson Davis55 min
Mar 21, 2:13 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementLCHBeauregard62 min
Mar 21, 2:56 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHAllen, Jefferson Davis4 hr
Mar 21, 3:41 AM CDTTornado WarningLCHCameron, Vermilion34 min
Mar 21, 3:48 AM CDTWind AdvisoryLCHSaint Martin6 hr
Mar 21, 3:55 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH65 min
Mar 21, 4:04 AM CDTTornado WarningLCHAcadia, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, Vermilion26 min
Mar 21, 4:44 AM CDTTornado WarningLCHAcadia, Vermilion31 min
Mar 21, 4:51 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH54 min
Mar 21, 5:17 AM CDTTornado WarningLCHVermilion28 min
Mar 21, 5:34 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAcadia, Evangeline, Lafayette, Saint Landry, Vermilion56 min
Mar 21, 5:51 AM CDTTornado WarningLCHLafayette, Vermilion24 min
Mar 21, 6:00 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH60 min
Mar 21, 6:10 AM CDTAreal Flood WarningLCHBeauregard, Calcasieu, Vernon5 days
Mar 21, 7:01 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementLCHAvoyelles, Lafayette, Saint Landry, Saint Martin59 min
Mar 21, 7:10 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH65 min
Mar 21, 7:20 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHIberia, Saint Martin, St. Mary39 min
Mar 21, 7:24 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHIberia, Saint Martin47 min
Mar 21, 7:54 AM CDTAreal Flood WarningLCHIberia, St. Mary3 hr
Mar 21, 8:10 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHIberia, Saint Martin, St. Mary65 min
Mar 21, 10:45 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningLCHBeauregard, Vernon5 days
Mar 21, 4:17 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryLCHIberia, Saint Martin, St. Mary3 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Louisiana, 2012Every tornado warning in 2012Tornadoes in 2012

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.