Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Watches in 2017

Tornado Watch 101

March 29, 2017Ashley County, Chicot County, Arkansas; 37 parishes in Louisiana; 25 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 29, 2017, 7:26 PM CDT for Ashley County, Chicot County, Arkansas; 37 parishes in Louisiana; 25 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 8 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 29, 2017, 7:26 PM CDT (00:26 UTC)
Expired
Mar 30, 2017, 3:00 AM CDT
In force
8 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 64 counties

Ashley County, AR, Chicot County, AR, Acadia Parish, LA, Allen Parish, LA, Avoyelles Parish, LA, Beauregard Parish, LA, Calcasieu Parish, LA, Caldwell Parish, LA, Cameron Parish, LA, Catahoula 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, Madison Parish, LA, Morehouse Parish, LA, Natchitoches Parish, LA, Ouachita Parish, LA, Pointe Coupee Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA, Richland Parish, LA, Saint Landry Parish, LA, Saint Martin Parish, LA, St. Mary Parish, LA, Tensas Parish, LA, Vermilion Parish, LA, West Baton Rouge Parish, LA, West Carroll Parish, LA, West Feliciana Parish, LA, Winn Parish, LA, Adams County, MS, Amite County, MS, Bolivar County, MS, Carroll County, MS, Claiborne County, MS, Copiah County, MS, Franklin County, MS, Grenada County, MS, Hinds County, MS, Holmes County, MS, Humphreys County, MS, Issaquena County, MS, Jefferson County, MS, Lawrence County, MS, Leflore County, MS, Lincoln County, MS, Madison County, MS, Rankin County, MS, Sharkey County, MS, Simpson County, MS, Sunflower County, MS, Warren County, MS, Washington County, MS, Wilkinson County, MS, Yazoo County, MS

The radar

The Ft Polk radar (KPOE), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:30 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
40%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
Ten or more severe hail reports
30%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
30%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
60%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 29, 7:53 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHCalcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis6 hr
Mar 29, 8:00 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHAcadia, Jefferson Davis30 min
Mar 29, 8:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAcadia, Evangeline, Lafayette, Saint Landry48 min
Mar 29, 8:27 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHAllen, Evangeline, Rapides12 min
Mar 29, 8:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANEast Carroll, Richland, West Carroll54 min
Mar 29, 8:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHIberia, Lafayette, Saint Landry, Saint Martin, St. Mary, Vermilion40 min
Mar 29, 9:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANChicot45 min
Mar 29, 10:30 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHAcadia, Allen, Evangeline, Jefferson Davis, Saint Landry6 hr
Mar 29, 10:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANConcordia, Tensas47 min
Mar 29, 11:04 PM CDTTornado WarningJANAdams, Jefferson41 min
Mar 30, 12:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANFranklin, Jefferson, Lincoln44 min
Mar 30, 12:12 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANClaiborne, Copiah, Hinds63 min
Mar 30, 12:31 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHCameron, Vermilion44 min
Mar 30, 12:42 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANCopiah, Lincoln52 min
Mar 30, 1:11 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANHinds, Madison, Rankin, Yazoo36 min
Mar 30, 1:42 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHSaint Landry5 hr

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 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 161 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 2017-03-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1539 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 2017-03-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 157 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
1539 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
662 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
157 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
162 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.1
Supercell composite
4.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

208 
WWUS20 KWNS 300021
SEL1  
SPC WW 300021
ARZ000-LAZ000-MSZ000-CWZ000-300800-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 101
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
720 PM CDT Wed Mar 29 2017

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Extreme southeastern Arkansas
  Southwestern through northeastern Louisiana
  Western Mississippi
  Coastal Waters

* Effective this Wednesday night and Thursday morning from 720 PM
  until 300 AM CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  A couple tornadoes possible
  Isolated very large hail events to 2 inches in diameter possible
  Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible

SUMMARY...The threat for severe weather, with clusters of
thunderstorms, is expected to spread northeastward across the watch
area through the remainder of this evening and overnight, before
diminishing late tonight.  A few tornadoes are possible, along with
damaging winds and isolated large hail.  See SPC mesoscale
discussion 370 for initial meteorological details.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 60 statute miles
east and west of a line from 40 miles west southwest of Intracoastal
City LA to 25 miles northeast of Greenville MS. For a complete
depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU1).

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.

&&

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...This tornado watch replaces tornado
watch number 98. Watch number 98 will not be in effect after 720
PM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 99...WW 100...

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 23030.

...Edwards

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 29, 7:34 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaxter, Boone, Clark, Conway, Fulton, Garland and 23 more86 min
Mar 29, 9:44 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaxter, Cleburne, Faulkner, Fulton, Independence, Izard and 6 more91 min
Mar 29, 9:58 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAshley, Chicot, Drew92 min
Mar 30, 1:34 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAscension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville and 10 more86 min
Mar 30, 11:10 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHarrison, Jackson65 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2017Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2017Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 2017Every tornado watch in 2017

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.