Alert archive / Texas / Flash Flood Warnings in 2012

Flash Flood Warning 29, NWS Lake Charles, LA

March 20, 2012Orange County, Texas

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this flash flood warning at Mar 20, 2012, 9:26 PM CDT for Orange County, Texas. It was in force for 5 hr. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Mar 20, 2012, 9:26 PM CDT (02:26 UTC)
Expired
Mar 21, 2012, 2:30 AM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

County Orange County, TX

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 62 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:28 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 20, 10:18 PM CDTFLASH FLOOD4 Wnw Orange, TXFLOODING REPORTED AT HWY 62 NEAR I-10
Mar 20, 10:26 PM CDTFLASH FLOOD2 Ese Mauriceville, TXORANGE SHERIFF REPORTS HEAVY RAINS HAVE FLOODED FARM TO MARKET 1130 TO THE EAST OF MAURICEVILLE.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 00:00Z, 2.4 hours before the alert went out and 401 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°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 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.

480 
WGUS54 KLCH 210226
FFWLCH
TXC361-210730-
/O.NEW.KLCH.FF.W.0029.120321T0226Z-120321T0730Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN ORANGE COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS...

* UNTIL 230 AM CDT

* AT 921 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE      
  WARNED AREA. RAINFALL ESTIMATES OVER THE PAST 6 HOURS RANGE FROM 2 
  TO 5 INCHES ACROSS EASTERN ORANGE COUNTY. STORM TOTAL RAINFALL     
  AMOUNTS 4 TO 8 INCHES. WATER LEVEL GAUGES CONTINUE TO INDICATE     
  RAPIDLY RISING WATER LEVELS ON COW BAYOU AND ADAMS BAYOU IN        
  NORTHEASTERN ORANGE COUNTY WITH FLOODING ONGOING. RADAR INDICATED  
  THAT THE LINE OF HEAVIER RAINS HAVE SHIFTED TO THE EAST            
  AGAIN...HOWEVER PERIODS OF HEAVIER SHOWERS ARE STILL POSSIBLE WITH 
  AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 2 INCHES POSSIBLE BEFORE ENDING.

* RUNOFF FROM THIS EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING TO
  OCCUR. SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE...
  BRIDGE CITY...MAURICEVILLE...ORANGE...WEST ORANGE...FOREST HEIGHTS
  AND ORANGEFIELD.

FLOODING HAS BEEN OBSERVED ALONG COW AND ADAMS BAYOUS.

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 2998 9386 3000 9392 2999 9393 3002 9398
      3013 9396 3024 9391 3024 9371 3009 9376
      3000 9377 2997 9380 2996 9385

$$

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, 9:02 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLCHNewton5 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.