Thunderstorm Wind in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana

Tree downed along Highway 843.

Robust thunderstorm development began late in the evening on March 14th through the morning hours on March 15th along a dryline from the Hot Springs region southward toward Texarkana and into much of North Louisiana. Upper air analysis suggested that low to mid-level winds were not quite as strong as compared to areas farther to the north. However, a strengthening low-level jet sampled by the KSHV (Shreveport, Louisiana) radar supported 0-1 km storm relative helicity (SRH) on the order of 200-300 m2/s2. Increasing low-level surface moisture and mixed layer CAPE were supportive of a more volatile environment downstream of the developing convection. Discrete to semi-discrete supercells migrated into this air mass with numerous reports of large hail and damaging wind gusts along with isolated flash flooding reported across North Louisiana throughout the morning on March 15th.