Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Watches in 2017

Tornado Watch 474

August 28, 201726 parishes in Louisiana; Jefferson County, Orange County, Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Aug 28, 2017, 12:16 PM CDT for 26 parishes in Louisiana; Jefferson County, Orange County, Texas. It was in force for 12 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 28, 2017, 12:16 PM CDT (17:16 UTC)
Expired
Aug 29, 2017, 12:00 AM CDT
In force
12 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
0.5 in
Strongest gust expected
55 kt
All 28 counties

Acadia Parish, LA, Ascension Parish, LA, Assumption Parish, LA, Calcasieu Parish, LA, Cameron Parish, LA, East Baton Rouge Parish, LA, Iberia Parish, LA, Iberville Parish, LA, Jefferson Davis Parish, LA, Jefferson Parish, LA, Lafayette Parish, LA, Lafourche Parish, LA, Livingston Parish, LA, Orleans Parish, LA, Plaquemines Parish, LA, Saint Bernard Parish, LA, Saint Charles Parish, LA, Saint James Parish, LA, Saint John the Baptist Parish, LA, Saint Martin Parish, LA, Saint Tammany Parish, LA, St. Mary Parish, LA, Tangipahoa Parish, LA, Terrebonne Parish, LA, Vermilion Parish, LA, West Baton Rouge Parish, LA, Jefferson County, TX, Orange County, TX

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 85 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:16 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
20%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
Ten or more severe hail reports
5%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
5%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
30%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 28, 12:24 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHSaint Martin36 min
Aug 28, 12:34 PM CDTTornado WarningLIXLafourche, Saint Charles56 min
Aug 28, 12:58 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHSaint Martin, St. Mary32 min
Aug 28, 1:02 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHCameron28 min
Aug 28, 2:30 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHJefferson30 min
Aug 28, 3:14 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHJefferson31 min
Aug 28, 3:42 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHHardin, Jefferson33 min
Aug 28, 4:20 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHCalcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis25 min
Aug 28, 4:45 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHCameron30 min
Aug 28, 5:55 PM CDTFlash Flood Warning EmergencyLCHHardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Newton, Orange28 hr
Aug 28, 6:41 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHCalcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis7 hr
Aug 28, 7:47 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHCameron43 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, 5.3 hours before the alert went out and 83 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 12:00Z on 2017-08-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 169 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 2017-08-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 377 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
169 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-37 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
610 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
377 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
499 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

257 
WWUS20 KWNS 281713
SEL4  
SPC WW 281713
LAZ000-TXZ000-CWZ000-290500-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 474
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
1215 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2017

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Southern Louisiana
  Far southeast Texas
  Coastal Waters

* Effective this Monday from 1215 PM until Midnight CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  A couple tornadoes possible
  Isolated damaging wind gusts to 65 mph possible

SUMMARY...A risk for brief tornadoes and locally damaging winds will
persist through this evening with multiple bands of storms
associated with Tropical Cyclone Harvey.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 55 statute miles
north and south of a line from 30 miles south southwest of Port
Arthur TX to 35 miles east southeast of New Orleans LA. For a
complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline
update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU4).

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 473. Watch number 473 will not be in effect after
1215 PM CDT. 

AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
surface and aloft to 0.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 55 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean
storm motion vector 23020.

...Grams

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 27, 9:50 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAcadia, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, Vermilion115 min
Aug 28, 1:51 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAcadia, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Vermilion10 hr
Aug 28, 11:37 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAcadia, Ascension, Assumption, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia and 13 more83 min
Aug 28, 3:58 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAcadia, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette and 3 more92 min
Aug 28, 6:49 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAcadia, Ascension, Assumption, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia and 16 more116 min
Aug 27, 7:45 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCarson, Dallam, Hansford, Hartley, Hutchinson, Moore and 3 more2 hr
Aug 28, 3:00 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCJefferson60 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2017Tornado Watches in Texas, 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.