Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 41, NWS Lake Charles, LA

January 21, 1998Jefferson County, Texas

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this flash flood warning at Jan 21, 1998, 10:53 PM CST for Jefferson County, Texas. 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 21, 1998, 10:53 PM CST (04:53 UTC)
Expired: Jan 22, 1998, 12:55 AM CST
In force: 2 hr
Issued by: NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area: Whole counties

County Jefferson County, TX

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:56 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

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 00:00Z, 4.9 hours before the alert went out and 96 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1567 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 528 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 120 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 168 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.3
Supercell composite: 6.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KLCH 220453
FFWLCH
TXC245-220655-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
1053 PM CST WED JAN 21 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES LA HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1255 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTHEASTERN TEXAS

   ...JEFFERSON COUNTY

DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATES BETWEEN 3 AND 5 INCHES OF RAIN HAVE ALREADY
FALLEN BETWEEN HAMSHIRE AND WINNIE. THE BEAUMONT AREA HAS SEEN
ABOUT 3 INCHES OF RAIN. AN ADDITIONAL 2 INCHES OF RAIN IS EXPECTED
BY 1 AM.


HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS AND LOW-LYING AREAS RAPIDLY...SO DO
NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLES INTO AREAS WHERE WATER OF AN UNKNOWN
DEPTH COVERS THE ROAD. IF YOUR VEHICLE STALLS...ABANDON IT
IMMEDIATELY AND SEEK HIGHER GROUND.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Lake Charles, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Jan 21, 7:45 PM CST, 3 hours 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 21, 7:45 PM CST, 3 hours 8 minutes before

SOUTHEAST TEXAS..SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
745 PM CST WED JAN 21 1998

SEVERE TSRA CONTINUES OVER EAST TEXAS...GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL REPORTED
EARLIER IN TYLER COUNTY.

00Z LCH SOUNDING SHOWING 2000 CAPES WITH -7 LIS.  WITH CURRENT LOW
LEVEL WIND PROFILE...NE-E MOVING CELLS SHOULD HAVE 0-3KM HELICITIES
RUNNING 180-200 RANGE. PRECIPITATION FILLING IN OVER EAST-CENTRAL TX.
FLASHFLOODING WILL BE A POSSIBILITY...ESPECIALLY OVER NORTHERN ZONES.
MORE OF A SEVERE THREAT WILL CONTINUE OVER COASTAL SECTIONS WITH THE
BETTER LOW LEVEL INFLOW.

FORECAST LOOKS GOOD AT THIS POINT...KEEP FAA TONIGHT FOR ENTIRE AREA.
MAY WANT TO BUMP UP LOWS FOR TONIGHT GIVEN CURRENT TEMPS AND
FRONTAL POSITION.

12

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 21, 9:28 PM CST, 1 hour 25 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
928 PM CST WED JAN 21 1998

TIME(CST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

900 PM     DEQUINCY                  LA   0.75 INCH HAIL
01/21/98   CALCASIEU                      REPORTED BY POLICE DEPT

ERICKSON

Local storm report, Jan 21, 9:28 PM CST, 1 hour 25 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
928 PM CST WED JAN 21 1998

TIME(CST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

900 PM     DEQUINCY                  LA   0.75 INCH HAIL
01/21/98   CALCASIEU                      REPORTED BY POLICE DEPT

ERICKSON

Local storm report, Jan 21, 10:00 PM CST, 53 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
1000 PM CST WED JAN 21 1998

TIME(CST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

953 PM     FANNETT                   TX   1.00 INCH HAIL
01/21/98   JEFFERSON                      QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          IN FANNETT BY KFDM-TV.

956 PM     KIRBYVILLE                TX   1.75 INCH HAIL
01/21/98   JASPER                         GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          IN KIRBYVILLE BY KFDM-TV.

Local storm report, Jan 21, 10:11 PM CST, 42 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
1011 PM CST WED JAN 21 1998

TIME(CST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

940 PM     KIRBYVILLE                TX   1.75 INCH HAIL
01/21/98   JASPER                         GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          IN KIRBYVILLE BY SHERIFFS.

928 PM     2N OF MOSSBLUFF            LA  1.00 INCH HAIL
01/21/98   CALCASIEU                      PING PONG BALL SIZE HAIL
                                          REPORTED NEAR TOPSY BY
                                          KPLC-TV.

Local storm report, Jan 21, 10:20 PM CST, 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
1020 PM CST WED JAN 21 1998

TIME(CST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

930 PM     RAGLEY                    LA   0.75 INCH HAIL
01/21/98   BEAUREGARD

1000 PM    BLEAKWOOD                 TX   0.75 INCH HAIL
01/21/98   NEWTON                         ALSO REPORTS OF TREES
                                          BLOWN DOWN AND ROADS
                                          CLOSED DUE TO HIGH WATER.

940 PM     HAMPSHIRE                 TX   0.75 INCH HAIL
01/21/98   JEFFERSON

ERICKSON

Local storm report, Jan 21, 10:20 PM CST, 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
1020 PM CST WED JAN 21 1998

TIME(CST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

930 PM     RAGLEY                    LA   0.75 INCH HAIL
01/21/98   BEAUREGARD

1000 PM    BLEAKWOOD                 TX   0.75 INCH HAIL
01/21/98   NEWTON                         ALSO REPORTS OF TREES
                                          BLOWN DOWN AND ROADS
                                          CLOSED DUE TO HIGH WATER.

940 PM     HAMPSHIRE                 TX   0.75 INCH HAIL
01/21/98   JEFFERSON

ERICKSON

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 21, 6:33 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Newton	32 min
Jan 21, 7:57 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Tyler	58 min
Jan 21, 8:50 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Jefferson	55 min
Jan 21, 9:11 PM CST	Tornado Warning	LCH	Jasper, Tyler	34 min
Jan 21, 9:44 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Jefferson	61 min
Jan 21, 9:46 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Newton	49 min
Jan 21, 10:32 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Orange	63 min
Jan 21, 10:55 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Jefferson	65 min
Jan 21, 11:24 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	LCH	Orange	2 hr
Jan 22, 1:53 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	LCH	Jefferson	2 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Texas, 1998 Every 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.