Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 2012

Flash Flood Warning 28, NWS Lake Charles, LA

March 20, 2012Newton County, Texas

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this flash flood warning at Mar 20, 2012, 9:02 PM CDT for Newton County, Texas. It was in force for 5 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, 9:02 PM CDT (02:02 UTC)
Expired
Mar 21, 2012, 2:00 AM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

County Newton County, TX

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 63 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:05 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, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 390 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 2012-03-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1474 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 00:00Z on 2012-03-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 151 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
1474 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
578 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
151 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
239 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.2
Supercell composite
8.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

126 
WGUS54 KLCH 210202
FFWLCH
TXC351-210700-
/O.NEW.KLCH.FF.W.0028.120321T0202Z-120321T0700Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHWESTERN NEWTON COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS...

* UNTIL 200 AM CDT

* AT 859 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE      
  WARNED AREA. THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO TRAIN OVER THE SAME GENERAL 
  AREA OF SOUTHEASTERN NEWTON COUNTY. RAINFALL ESTIMATES OVER THE    
  PAST 6 HOURS RAINFALL ESTIMATES OF 2 TO 5 INCHES HAVE FALLEN. WITH 
  STORM TOTAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES ACROSS EXTREME      
  SOUTHEASTERN NEWTON COUNTY. 

* RUNOFF FROM THIS EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING TO
  OCCUR. SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE...
  DEWEYVILLE...DEVILS POCKET...HARTBURG...OLD SALEM...TROUT CREEK AND
  WRIGHTS SETTLEMENT.

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 3065 9385 3065 9368 3060 9369 3057 9373
      3054 9374 3052 9371 3042 9371 3039 9375
      3034 9377 3034 9375 3033 9375 3029 9372
      3024 9371 3025 9390

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 20, 7:25 PM CDTTornado WarningLCHNewton, Orange35 min
Mar 20, 8:14 PM CDTRiver Flood WarningLCHNewton, Orange26 days
Mar 20, 8:43 PM CDTAreal Flood WarningLCHJasper5 hr
Mar 20, 8:57 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHOrange6 hr
Mar 20, 9:26 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHOrange5 hr
Mar 21, 1:37 AM CDTAreal Flood WarningLCHJasper, Newton, Orange5 hr
Mar 21, 2:21 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementLCHSabine9 min
Mar 21, 5:48 AM CDTAreal Flood WarningLCHJasper, Newton, Orange, Tyler3 days
Mar 21, 9:17 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningLCHJefferson, Orange6 days
Mar 21, 9:17 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningLCHHardin, Jefferson4 days
Mar 21, 10:45 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningLCHNewton5 days

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Texas, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.