Alert archive / Louisiana / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 2, NWS Lake Charles, LA

January 5, 1998Lafayette Parish, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this flash flood warning at Jan 5, 1998, 2:17 AM CST for Lafayette Parish, Vermilion 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
Jan 5, 1998, 2:17 AM CST (08:17 UTC)
Expired
Jan 5, 1998, 4:30 AM CST
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Lafayette Parish, LA, Vermilion Parish, LA

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 100 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:18 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 00:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 240 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 00:00Z on 1998-01-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 51 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 00:00Z on 1998-01-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 42 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
51 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-45 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
519 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
42 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
102 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KLCH 050819
FFWLCH
LAC055-099-113-051030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
217 AM CST MON JAN 5 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES LA HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 430 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA

   ...LAFAYETTE PARISH
   ...VERMILION PARISH

IN SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA

   ...UPPER ST. MARTIN PARISH

AT 215 AM DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATED 5 TO 8 INCHES OF RAINFALL HAD
OCCURRED OVER THE WARNED AREA. KLFY-TV IN LAFAYETTE RECORDED 5.7
INCHES OF RAIN SINCE EARLY SUNDAY EVENING. 1 TO 2 INCHES OF
ADDITIONAL RAINFALL IS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 2 HOURS. FLOODING
OF LOW LYING AREAS IS LIKELY. THOSE IN FLOOD PRONE AREAS WILL NEED
TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE
THE DANGERS OF FLOODS. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED...ACT QUICKLY.
DO NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.
IT IS VERY DIFFICULT AT NIGHT TO TELL HOW MUCH WATER IS ON ROADS.
MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT DRIVE THROUGH WATER OF UNKNOWN DEPTH.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 4, 9:30 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningLCHAvoyelles, Saint Landry3 hr
Jan 5, 2:17 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningLCHSaint Martin2 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Louisiana, 1998Every flash flood warning in 1998

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.