Alert archive / Louisiana / Flash Flood Warnings in 2012

Flash Flood Warning 24, NWS Lake Charles, LA

March 20, 2012Vernon Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this flash flood warning at Mar 20, 2012, 6:05 PM CDT for Vernon Parish, Louisiana. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 20, 2012, 6:05 PM CDT (23:05 UTC)
Expired
Mar 20, 2012, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

County Vernon Parish, LA

The nearest sounding before it

Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 132 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 2012-03-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1368 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 2012-03-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 225 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
1368 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
555 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
225 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
338 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.2
Supercell composite
8.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

457 
WGUS54 KLCH 202305
FFWLCH
LAC115-210200-
/O.NEW.KLCH.FF.W.0024.120320T2305Z-120321T0200Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
605 PM CDT TUE MAR 20 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN VERNON PARISH IN WEST CENTRAL LOUISIANA...

* UNTIL 900 PM CDT

* AT 600 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE      
  WARNED AREA. RADAR ESTIMATES RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES     
  HAVE FALLEN OVER THE PAST 3 HOURS...WITH 3 TO 6 INCHES ESTIMATED   
  OVER THE PAST 6 HOURS. HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO 
  MOVE ACROSS THE AREA AND AN ADDITIONAL 2 INCHES OF RAINFALL IS     
  POSSIBLE THROUGH 8 PM.  

* RUNOFF FROM THIS EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING TO
  OCCUR. SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE...
  ANACOCO...SLAGLE...HORNBECK...HUTTON AND KURTHWOOD.

SOME STREAMS AND CREEKS THAT ARE LIKELY TO FLOOD ARE THE HEADWATERS 
OF THE CALCASIEU RIVER...INDIAN CREEK...PRARIE CREEK AND COMRADE 
CREEK.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING. 
IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY. 
RESIDENTS LIVING ALONG STREAMS AND CREEKS SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE 
PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS 
SWIFTLY FLOWING WATERS OR WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH BY FOOT OR BY 
AUTOMOBILE.

&&

LAT...LON 3136 9299 3134 9298 3132 9289 3112 9299
      3126 9351 3129 9350 3129 9344 3137 9339
      3137 9303

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 20, 9:33 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningLCHAllen7 days
Mar 20, 9:33 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningLCHAllen, Jefferson Davis9 days
Mar 20, 9:33 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningLCHCalcasieu7 days
Mar 20, 9:33 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningLCHBeauregard5 days
Mar 20, 9:33 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningLCHAllen6 days
Mar 20, 9:33 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningLCHAcadia, Allen, Evangeline, Jefferson Davis6 days
Mar 20, 9:33 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningLCHAcadia, Jefferson Davis4 days
Mar 20, 2:43 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHBeauregard, Vernon5 hr
Mar 20, 2:46 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHCalcasieu29 min
Mar 20, 3:18 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHBeauregard, Calcasieu6 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Louisiana, 2012Every flash flood warning in 2012

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.