Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Warnings in 2015

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Lake Charles, LA

April 19, 2015Rapides Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this tornado warning at Apr 19, 2015, 8:11 PM CDT for Rapides Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 34 min. 3 reports 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
Apr 19, 2015, 8:11 PM CDT (01:11 UTC)
Expired
Apr 19, 2015, 8:45 PM CDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Storm-based polygon

County Rapides Parish, LA

The radar

The Ft Polk radar (KPOE), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:15 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 was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 19, 8:19 PM CDTHAIL 1Ball, LASPOTTER REPORTED QUARTER SIZE HAIL IN BALL
Apr 19, 8:20 PM CDTHAIL 1.25Tioga, LAPUBLIC REPORTS HALF DOLLAR SIZE HAIL IN TIOGA
Apr 19, 8:31 PM CDTHAIL 1.75Pineville, LAPUBLIC REPORTED GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL NORTH OF PINEVILLE

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

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 19, 2:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC7 hr
Apr 19, 8:02 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 166 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 2015-04-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 754 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 2015-04-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 61 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
754 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-204 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1279 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
61 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
125 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

666 
WFUS54 KLCH 200111
TORLCH
LAC079-200145-
/O.NEW.KLCH.TO.W.0002.150420T0111Z-150420T0145Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
811 PM CDT SUN APR 19 2015

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES  HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN RAPIDES PARISH IN CENTRAL LOUISIANA...

* UNTIL 845 PM CDT
    
* AT 810 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
  CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED
  NEAR TIMBER TRAILS...OR NEAR ALEXANDRIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...AND
  MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  ALEXANDRIA...PINEVILLE...ALEXANDRIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...BALL...
  DEVILLE...KOLIN...LIBUSE...HOLLOWAY...ESLER REGIONAL AIRPORT...
  TIOGA...KINGSVILLE...PARADISE AND TIMBER TRAILS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW. MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE IN A MOBILE
HOME OR OUTDOORS...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

&&

LAT...LON 3147 9219 3147 9217 3140 9215 3130 9215
      3130 9216 3133 9219 3133 9222 3132 9223
      3126 9223 3128 9260 3140 9259 3148 9220
TIME...MOT...LOC 0110Z 273DEG 25KT 3137 9251 

$$

13

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 19, 7:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHRapides53 min
Apr 19, 7:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHVernon47 min
Apr 19, 7:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHRapides, Vernon62 min
Apr 19, 8:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHVernon34 min
Apr 19, 8:39 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH36 min
Apr 19, 8:43 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHAvoyelles, Rapides19 min
Apr 19, 9:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAvoyelles30 min
Apr 19, 9:11 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH94 min
Apr 19, 9:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHRapides39 min
Apr 19, 9:36 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHRapides24 min
Apr 19, 9:59 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH61 min
Apr 19, 10:54 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementLCHCalcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis81 min
Apr 19, 10:57 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH63 min
Apr 19, 11:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAcadia, Cameron, Evangeline, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette and 4 more83 min
Apr 20, 1:46 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLCH89 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Louisiana, 2015Every tornado warning in 2015Tornadoes in 2015

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.