Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 2012

Tornado Warning 59, NWS Lake Charles, LA

October 18, 2012Rapides Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this tornado warning at Oct 18, 2012, 12:48 AM CDT for Rapides Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 27 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Oct 18, 2012, 12:48 AM CDT (05:48 UTC)
Expired: Oct 18, 2012, 1:15 AM CDT
In force: 27 min
Issued by: NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Rapides Parish, LA

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Oct 18, 12:59 AM CDT	TSTM WND DMG	N Deville, LA	REPORTS OF TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 5.8 hours before the alert went out and 168 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: 2250 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 575 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 176 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 254 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 2.2
Supercell composite: 11.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

591 
WFUS54 KLCH 180548
TORLCH
LAC079-180615-
/O.NEW.KLCH.TO.W.0059.121018T0548Z-121018T0615Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
1248 AM CDT THU OCT 18 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN RAPIDES PARISH IN CENTRAL LOUISIANA...
  THIS INCLUDES PINEVILLE...

* UNTIL 115 AM CDT

* AT 1243 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR ESLER
  REGIONAL AIRPORT...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  HOLLOWAY BY 1255 AM CDT...
  KOLIN BY 100 AM CDT...
  DEVILLE BY 105 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 3147 9216 3141 9215 3136 9207 3135 9208
      3130 9217 3133 9218 3133 9222 3127 9223
      3120 9237 3141 9245 3145 9239 3148 9223
TIME...MOT...LOC 0548Z 321DEG 21KT 3139 9230

$$

21

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Oct 18, 12:34 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	LCH	Rapides, Vernon	26 min
Oct 18, 12:58 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	LCH	Rapides, Vernon	32 min
Oct 18, 1:06 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	LCH	Avoyelles, Rapides	24 min
Oct 18, 1:22 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Allen, Avoyelles, Evangeline, Rapides, Vernon	53 min
Oct 18, 1:35 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	LCH	Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Evangeline	55 min
Oct 18, 1:49 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Avoyelles, Saint Landry	56 min
Oct 18, 2:39 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	LCH	Allen, Evangeline, Saint Landry	66 min
Oct 18, 2:50 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	LCH	Calcasieu	55 min
Oct 18, 2:55 AM CDT	Special Marine Warning	LCH		65 min
Oct 18, 3:26 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	LCH	Acadia, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette	64 min
Oct 18, 4:24 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	LCH	Lafayette, Vermilion	66 min
Oct 18, 5:25 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	LCH	Iberia, Vermilion	65 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Louisiana, 2012 Every tornado warning in 2012 Tornadoes 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.