Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2012

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 138

April 3, 201229 parishes in Louisiana; 14 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Apr 3, 2012, 9:48 PM CDT for 29 parishes in Louisiana; 14 counties in Texas. It was in force for 8 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 3, 2012, 9:48 PM CDT (02:48 UTC)
Expired
Apr 4, 2012, 6:00 AM CDT
In force
8 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 43 counties

Acadia Parish, LA, Allen Parish, LA, Avoyelles Parish, LA, Beauregard Parish, LA, Bienville Parish, LA, Calcasieu Parish, LA, Caldwell Parish, LA, Cameron Parish, LA, De Soto Parish, LA, Evangeline Parish, LA, Grant Parish, LA, Iberia Parish, LA, Jackson Parish, LA, Jefferson Davis Parish, LA, Lafayette Parish, LA, LaSalle Parish, LA, Lincoln Parish, LA, Natchitoches Parish, LA, Ouachita Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA, Red River Parish, LA, Sabine Parish, LA, Saint Landry Parish, LA, Saint Martin Parish, LA, St. Mary Parish, LA, Union Parish, LA, Vermilion Parish, LA, Vernon Parish, LA, Winn Parish, LA, Angelina County, TX, Cherokee County, TX, Hardin County, TX, Jasper County, TX, Jefferson County, TX, Nacogdoches County, TX, Newton County, TX, Orange County, TX, Panola County, TX, Rusk County, TX, Sabine County, TX, San Augustine County, TX, Shelby County, TX, Tyler County, TX

The radar

The Shreveport radar (KSHV), 101 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:52 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
20%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
5%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
30%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
20%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
60%

Warnings issued inside it

13 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 3, 10:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVBienville, Caldwell, Jackson, Lincoln, Ouachita, Winn53 min
Apr 3, 10:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVDe Soto, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine, Winn62 min
Apr 3, 11:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVAngelina, Cherokee, Nacogdoches65 min
Apr 3, 11:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVGrant, Natchitoches, Sabine58 min
Apr 3, 11:21 PM CDTTornado WarningSHVNatchitoches, Sabine24 min
Apr 3, 11:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVSabine86 min
Apr 3, 11:45 PM CDTTornado WarningSHVNatchitoches, Sabine29 min
Apr 4, 12:39 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningSHVNatchitoches, Sabine4 hr
Apr 4, 12:45 AM CDTTornado WarningLCHBeauregard, Vernon30 min
Apr 4, 1:07 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVAngelina, Nacogdoches38 min
Apr 4, 3:23 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVAngelina, Sabine, San Augustine67 min
Apr 4, 3:44 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAcadia, Lafayette, Saint Landry, Saint Martin, Vermilion29 min
Apr 4, 4:19 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHIberia, Vermilion26 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

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 00:00Z, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 106 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, Shreveport, LA at 00:00Z on 2012-04-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2361 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Shreveport, LA at 00:00Z on 2012-04-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 96 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
2361 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1056 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
96 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
156 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.1
Supercell composite
7.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 3, 8:47 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBienville, Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, De Soto, Lincoln and 4 more58 min
Apr 3, 11:24 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllen, Avoyelles, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Grant and 12 more96 min
Apr 4, 2:29 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAcadia, Ascension, Assumption, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia and 18 more91 min
Apr 3, 7:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAustin, Bastrop, Brazos, Burleson, Colorado, Fayette and 13 more7 hr
Apr 4, 12:19 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAransas, Austin, Bee, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers and 25 more86 min
Apr 4, 12:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAransas, Bee, Brazoria, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron and 19 more6 hr
Apr 4, 3:32 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAransas, Brazoria, Calhoun, Galveston, Kleberg, Matagorda and 1 more88 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Louisiana, 2012Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Texas, 2012Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.