Alert archive / Louisiana / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 13, NWS Lake Charles, LA

June 18, 1997Saint Martin Parish, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this flash flood warning at Jun 18, 1997, 5:38 AM CDT for Saint Martin Parish, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 2 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jun 18, 1997, 5:38 AM CDT (10:38 UTC)
Expired
Jun 18, 1997, 7:45 AM CDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Saint Martin Parish, LA, St. Mary Parish, LA

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 162 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 1997-06-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 375 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 00:00Z on 1997-06-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 101 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
375 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-182 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1118 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
101 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
219 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KLCH 181038
FFWLCH
LAC099-101-181245-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
538 AM CDT WED JUN 18 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  745 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA
 
   ...LOWER ST. MARTIN PARISH...ST. MARY PARISH
 
AT 535 AM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUING TO MOVE EAST AT 5 MPH OVER ST MARY AND LOWER ST
MARTIN PARISHES. RAINFALL RATES UP TO 3 INCHES AN HOUR WILL ACCOMPANY
THESE STORMS. PRECIPITATION ESTIMATES OF AROUND 6 INCHES HAVE ALREADY
OCCURRED OVER THIS AREA IN THE LAST THREE HOURS AND WITH THE
THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY EXPECTED TO CONTINUE...FLASH FLOODING IS IMMINENT.
 
MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY.  NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL
ONE...ON FOOT.  TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Lake Charles, LA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 18, 7:37 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHSaint Martin, St. Mary4 hr
Jun 18, 11:32 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHSaint Martin3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Louisiana, 1997Every flash flood warning in 1997

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.