Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 2012

Tornado Warning 56, NWS Lake Charles, LA

May 11, 2012Cameron Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this tornado warning at May 11, 2012, 6:16 AM CDT for Cameron Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 29 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 11, 2012, 6:16 AM CDT (11:16 UTC)
Expired
May 11, 2012, 6:45 AM CDT
In force
29 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Storm-based polygon

County Cameron Parish, LA

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 34 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:19 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 nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 34 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 00:00Z on 2012-05-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 00:00Z on 2012-05-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 12 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1766 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
36 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.

173 
WFUS54 KLCH 111116
TORLCH
LAC023-111145-
/O.NEW.KLCH.TO.W.0056.120511T1116Z-120511T1145Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
616 AM CDT FRI MAY 11 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL CAMERON PARISH IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA...
  THIS INCLUDES CAMERON...

* UNTIL 645 AM CDT

* AT 610 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 8 MILES
  SOUTHWEST OF CAMERON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  CAMERON BY 630 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.

&&

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

LAT...LON 2976 9347 2993 9344 2992 9333 2985 9333
      2984 9330 2986 9325 2990 9324 2988 9304
      2975 9315 2977 9323 2977 9331 2975 9335
TIME...MOT...LOC 1116Z 208DEG 21KT 2973 9334

$$

21
1 follow-up statement
704 
WWUS54 KLCH 111135
SVSLCH

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
635 AM CDT FRI MAY 11 2012

LAC023-111145-
/O.CON.KLCH.TO.W.0056.000000T0000Z-120511T1145Z/
CAMERON LA-
635 AM CDT FRI MAY 11 2012

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 645 AM CDT FOR CENTRAL
CAMERON PARISH...

AT 633 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A
TORNADO ON RADAR.  THIS RADAR INDICATED TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR
CAMERON..MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

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.

&&

LAT...LON 2976 9347 2993 9344 2992 9333 2985 9333
      2984 9330 2986 9325 2990 9324 2988 9304
      2975 9315 2977 9323 2977 9331 2975 9335
TIME...MOT...LOC 1135Z 208DEG 21KT 2983 9328

$$
JT

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 11, 3:07 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH113 min
May 11, 5:32 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH118 min
May 11, 5:44 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH2 hr
May 11, 6:01 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH59 min
May 11, 7:04 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH116 min
May 11, 8:24 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH36 min
May 11, 8:58 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH2 hr
May 11, 9:08 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementLCHBeauregard, Calcasieu52 min
May 11, 10:02 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementLCHAllen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Jefferson Davis, Vernon58 min

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.