Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Watches in 2012
Tornado Watch 16
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 25, 2012, 2:08 PM CST for 47 parishes in Louisiana; 14 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jan 25, 2012, 2:08 PM CST (20:08 UTC)
- Expired
- Jan 25, 2012, 9:00 PM CST
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 61 counties
Acadia Parish, LA, Allen Parish, LA, Ascension Parish, LA, Assumption Parish, LA, Avoyelles Parish, LA, Beauregard Parish, LA, Bienville Parish, LA, Calcasieu Parish, LA, Caldwell Parish, LA, Cameron Parish, LA, Catahoula Parish, LA, Claiborne Parish, LA, Concordia Parish, LA, East Baton Rouge Parish, LA, East Carroll Parish, LA, East Feliciana Parish, LA, Evangeline Parish, LA, Franklin Parish, LA, Grant Parish, LA, Iberia Parish, LA, Iberville Parish, LA, Jackson Parish, LA, Jefferson Davis Parish, LA, Lafayette Parish, LA, LaSalle Parish, LA, Lincoln Parish, LA, Livingston Parish, LA, Madison Parish, LA, Morehouse Parish, LA, Natchitoches Parish, LA, Ouachita Parish, LA, Pointe Coupee Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA, Richland Parish, LA, Saint Helena Parish, LA, Saint James Parish, LA, Saint Landry Parish, LA, Saint Martin Parish, LA, St. Mary Parish, LA, Tensas Parish, LA, Union Parish, LA, Vermilion Parish, LA, Vernon Parish, LA, West Baton Rouge Parish, LA, West Carroll Parish, LA, West Feliciana Parish, LA, Winn Parish, LA, Adams County, MS, Amite County, MS, Claiborne County, MS, Copiah County, MS, Franklin County, MS, Issaquena County, MS, Jefferson County, MS, Lawrence County, MS, Lincoln County, MS, Sharkey County, MS, Simpson County, MS, Warren County, MS, Washington County, MS, Wilkinson 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
- 30%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 50%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 30%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 40%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 30%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 80%
Warnings issued inside it
19 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25, 2:28 PM CST | Tornado Warning | LCH | Rapides, Vernon | 32 min |
| Jan 25, 2:36 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron | 54 min |
| Jan 25, 2:56 PM CST | Tornado Warning | LCH | Rapides | 34 min |
| Jan 25, 3:15 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Caldwell, Grant, LaSalle, Winn | 60 min |
| Jan 25, 3:24 PM CST | Tornado Warning | LCH | Rapides | 36 min |
| Jan 25, 3:30 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Evangeline, Jefferson Davis and 2 more | 60 min |
| Jan 25, 3:55 PM CST | Tornado Warning | LCH | Avoyelles, Rapides | 35 min |
| Jan 25, 4:11 PM CST | Tornado Warning | JAN | Catahoula, Concordia | 26 min |
| Jan 25, 4:36 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Acadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron and 7 more | 54 min |
| Jan 25, 4:41 PM CST | Tornado Warning | LCH | Avoyelles | 34 min |
| Jan 25, 5:33 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Acadia, Allen, Calcasieu, Cameron, Evangeline, Jefferson Davis and 2 more | 57 min |
| Jan 25, 5:57 PM CST | Tornado Warning | LCH | Cameron | 12 min |
| Jan 25, 6:11 PM CST | Tornado Warning | JAN | Lincoln | 49 min |
| Jan 25, 6:29 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Acadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Cameron, Evangeline, Jefferson Davis and 2 more | 61 min |
| Jan 25, 6:33 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Copiah, Lawrence, Simpson | 42 min |
| Jan 25, 6:55 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Lafayette | 35 min |
| Jan 25, 6:55 PM CST | Tornado Warning | JAN | Copiah, Simpson | 33 min |
| Jan 25, 7:19 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Avoyelles, Lafayette, Saint Landry, Saint Martin | 56 min |
| Jan 25, 7:36 PM CST | Tornado Warning | JAN | Copiah, Lawrence, Simpson | 37 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
Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 8.1 hours before the alert went out and 98 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
- 28 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -201 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 576 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 241 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 341 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 2.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
517
WWUS20 KWNS 252014
SEL6
SPC WW 252014
ARZ000-LAZ000-MSZ000-TXZ000-CWZ000-260300-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 16
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
210 PM CST WED JAN 25 2012
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS
LOUISIANA
WEST-CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI
FAR SOUTHEAST TEXAS
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 210 PM UNTIL
900 PM CST.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 75 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
INTRACOASTAL CITY LOUISIANA TO 45 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF MONROE
LOUISIANA. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE
ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU6).
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 15. WATCH NUMBER 15 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 210
PM CST.
DISCUSSION...LONG-LIVED QLCS WITH EMBEDDED LEWP AND SUPERCELL
STRUCTURES IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE EWD TOWARD THE MS RIVER THIS
AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT. 18Z LCH SOUNDING AND CURRENT VAD DATA FROM
FT. POLK LA INDICATE A FAVORABLE SEVERE STORM ENVIRONMENT WITH
MLCAPE VALUES OF 1000-2000 J/KG...50 KT OF DEEP-LAYER SHEAR AND 0-1
KM SRH OF AROUND 300 M2/S2. WHILE THE DOMINANT LINEAR CONVECTIVE
MODE WILL LIMIT A MORE ROBUST TORNADO THREAT...A FEW TORNADOES WILL
REMAIN POSSIBLE. DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE PRIMARY HAZARD WITH
SOME SEVERE HAIL ALSO POSSIBLE.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22035.
...MEADSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25, 7:56 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Acadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier and 24 more | 7 hr |
| Jan 25, 11:24 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Acadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier and 25 more | 2 hr |
| Jan 25, 1:41 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Acadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron and 13 more | 94 min |
| Jan 25, 4:49 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Avoyelles, Cameron, Catahoula and 24 more | 86 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2012Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2012Every tornado 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.