Alert archive / Louisiana / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 160

May 9, 202113 parishes in Louisiana; Jasper County, Newton County, Tyler County, Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 9, 2021, 5:45 PM CDT for 13 parishes in Louisiana; Jasper County, Newton County, Tyler County, Texas. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 9, 2021, 5:45 PM CDT (22:45 UTC)
Expired
May 10, 2021, 1:00 AM CDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt

Counties Allen Parish, LA, Avoyelles Parish, LA, Beauregard Parish, LA, Caldwell Parish, LA, Evangeline Parish, LA, Grant Parish, LA, LaSalle Parish, LA, Natchitoches Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA, Sabine Parish, LA, Saint Landry Parish, LA, Vernon Parish, LA, Winn Parish, LA, Jasper County, TX, Newton County, TX, Tyler County, TX

The radar

The Ft Polk radar (KPOE), 35 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:45 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
20%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
2%
Ten or more severe wind reports
60%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
60%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
60%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
95%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 9, 6:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVSabine67 min
May 9, 6:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHJasper, Newton, Tyler59 min
May 9, 6:58 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningSHVSabine10 hr
May 9, 7:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHBeauregard, Vernon53 min
May 9, 7:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVGrant, Natchitoches, Sabine53 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, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 135 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 2021-05-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1028 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 2021-05-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 105 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1028 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-148 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
575 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
105 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
304 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

270 
WWUS20 KWNS 092240
SEL0  
SPC WW 092240
LAZ000-TXZ000-100600-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 160
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
545 PM CDT Sun May 9 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  Central Louisiana
  Southeast Texas

* Effective this Sunday afternoon and Monday morning from 545 PM
  until 100 AM CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2
    inches in diameter likely
  Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely
  A tornado or two possible

SUMMARY...A cluster of intense thunderstorms over eastern Texas will
move eastward this evening across the watch area.  The stronger
cores will pose a risk of hail and damaging wind gusts.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 50
statute miles north and south of a line from 65 miles west of Fort
Polk LA to 30 miles east of Alexandria LA. For a complete depiction
of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS
WOU0).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
favorable for 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. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
tornadoes.

&&

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 157...WW 158...WW 159...

AVIATION...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 500. Mean storm motion vector
27030.

...Hart

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 9, 12:14 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, De Soto and 13 more91 min
May 9, 1:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBienville, Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, De Soto, East Carroll and 9 more8 hr
May 9, 3:42 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBossier, Caddo, Claiborne, Webster93 min
May 9, 3:53 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCMadison, Tensas2 hr
May 9, 5:41 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Catahoula, Claiborne and 22 more2 hr
May 9, 1:41 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Bell, Blanco, Brazos, Burleson, Burnet and 27 more94 min
May 9, 3:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAnderson, Bell, Blanco, Bosque, Burnet, Comal and 32 more7 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Louisiana, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Texas, 2021Every severe thunderstorm watch in 2021

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.