Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Watches in 2016
Tornado Watch 5
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 21, 2016, 11:48 AM CST for 18 parishes in Louisiana; 14 counties in Texas. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jan 21, 2016, 11:48 AM CST (17:48 UTC)
- Expired
- Jan 21, 2016, 5:05 PM CST
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 2 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 32 counties
Acadia Parish, LA, Allen Parish, LA, Avoyelles Parish, LA, Beauregard Parish, LA, Calcasieu Parish, LA, Caldwell Parish, LA, Cameron Parish, LA, Evangeline Parish, LA, Grant Parish, LA, Jefferson Davis Parish, LA, LaSalle Parish, LA, Natchitoches Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA, Sabine Parish, LA, Saint Landry Parish, LA, Vermilion Parish, LA, Vernon Parish, LA, Winn Parish, LA, Angelina County, TX, Chambers County, TX, Hardin County, TX, Jasper County, TX, Jefferson County, TX, Liberty County, TX, Nacogdoches County, TX, Newton County, TX, Orange County, TX, Polk County, TX, Sabine County, TX, San Augustine County, TX, Shelby County, TX, Tyler County, TX
The radar
The Ft Polk radar (KPOE), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:51 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
- 70%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 40%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 20%
- 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
- 90%
Warnings issued inside it
15 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 21, 12:02 PM CST | Tornado Warning | LCH | Jasper, Newton | 43 min |
| Jan 21, 12:04 PM CST | Tornado Warning | LCH | Jasper, Tyler | 25 min |
| Jan 21, 12:34 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Jasper, Newton | 41 min |
| Jan 21, 12:43 PM CST | Tornado Warning | LCH | Beauregard | 38 min |
| Jan 21, 1:05 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Vernon | 40 min |
| Jan 21, 1:13 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Grant, Natchitoches, Sabine, Winn | 47 min |
| Jan 21, 1:17 PM CST | Tornado Warning | SHV | Natchitoches, Sabine | 28 min |
| Jan 21, 1:19 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Beauregard | 41 min |
| Jan 21, 1:55 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Allen, Beauregard, Rapides, Vernon | 50 min |
| Jan 21, 2:05 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | LaSalle | 25 min |
| Jan 21, 2:08 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Avoyelles | 37 min |
| Jan 21, 2:18 PM CST | Tornado Warning | LCH | Avoyelles | 27 min |
| Jan 21, 2:41 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Avoyelles, Rapides, Vernon | 49 min |
| Jan 21, 2:49 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Avoyelles | 26 min |
| Jan 21, 3:31 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH | Avoyelles, Rapides | 44 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, 5.8 hours before the alert went out and 112 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
- 1051 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -19 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 548 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 56 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 192 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 215 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 4.2
The text
As transmitted.
459
WWUS20 KWNS 211746
SEL5
SPC WW 211746
LAZ000-TXZ000-CWZ000-220100-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 5
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1150 AM CST THU JAN 21 2016
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
PARTS OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA
PARTS OF EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS
COASTAL WATERS
* EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY MORNING AND EVENING FROM 1150 AM UNTIL
700 PM CST.
* PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE...
A FEW TORNADOES LIKELY
SCATTERED LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED VERY LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 2
INCHES IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE
SCATTERED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE
SUMMARY...SCATTERED-NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO FORM AND
INTENSIFY FROM EAST TEXAS INTO LOUISIANA THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THE
STRONGEST STORMS WILL POSE A RISK FOR A FEW TORNADOES...IN ADDITION
TO LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 75 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 20 MILES NORTHWEST OF
NATCHITOCHES LOUISIANA TO 30 MILES SOUTHEAST OF PORT ARTHUR
TEXAS. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED
WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5).
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
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.
&&
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24030.
...THOMPSONSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 21, 4:40 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allen, Beauregard, Bienville, Caddo, De Soto, Grant and 8 more | 95 min |
| Jan 21, 10:59 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Acadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Evangeline and 7 more | 2 hr |
| Jan 21, 1:44 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Beauregard and 29 more | 2 hr |
| Jan 21, 2:14 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Ascension, Assumption, Catahoula, Concordia, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana and 23 more | 6 hr |
| Jan 21, 4:57 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | East Feliciana, Saint Helena | 63 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2016Tornado Watches in Texas, 2016Every tornado watch in 2016
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.