Alert archive / Louisiana / Flash Flood Warnings in 2012

Flash Flood Warning 9, NWS Lake Charles, LA

February 18, 2012Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this flash flood warning at Feb 18, 2012, 8:12 AM CST for Calcasieu 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
Feb 18, 2012, 8:12 AM CST (14:12 UTC)
Expired
Feb 18, 2012, 11:00 AM CST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

County Calcasieu Parish, LA

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 22 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:13 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 12:00Z, 2.2 hours before the alert went out and 23 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 2012-02-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Lake Charles Mun, LA at 12:00Z on 2012-02-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 359 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
564 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
75 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
359 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
635 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

384 
WGUS54 KLCH 181412
FFWLCH
LAC019-181700-
/O.NEW.KLCH.FF.W.0009.120218T1412Z-120218T1700Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
812 AM CST SAT FEB 18 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CALCASIEU PARISH IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA...

* UNTIL 1100 AM CST

* AT 810 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
  THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS CALCASIEU PARISH.    
  THESE HEAVY RAINFALL RATES WILL CAUSE FLOODING                     
  QUICKLY...ESPECIALLY THE URBAN AREAS OF LAKE CHARLES...SULPHUR AND 
  WEST LAKE. TRAVEL SHOULD BE POSTPONED UNTIL THE WATER RECEDES. 

* RUNOFF FROM THIS EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING TO
  OCCUR. SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE...LAKE
  CHARLES...LAKE CHARLES REGIONAL AIRPORT...MOSS BLUFF...STARKS...
  SULPHUR...VINTON...WESTLAKE...BUHLER...CARLYSS...EDGERLY...GILLIS
  AND LUNITA.


PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...URBAN AREAS...HIGHWAYS...STREETS AND UNDERPASSES
AS WELL AS OTHER DRAINAGE AREAS AND LOW LYING SPOTS.

&&

LAT...LON 3006 9369 3040 9367 3039 9313 3038 9313
      3006 9314

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 18, 5:08 AM CSTSpecial Weather StatementLCHAllen37 min
Feb 18, 5:33 AM CSTSpecial Weather StatementLCHEvangeline27 min
Feb 18, 6:26 AM CSTSpecial Weather StatementLCHVernon34 min
Feb 18, 6:54 AM CSTSpecial Weather StatementLCHSaint Landry66 min
Feb 18, 7:14 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAllen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron61 min
Feb 18, 7:21 AM CSTAreal Flood AdvisoryLCHBeauregard, Vernon84 min
Feb 18, 7:23 AM CSTSpecial Marine WarningLCH67 min
Feb 18, 7:27 AM CSTAreal Flood AdvisoryLCHCalcasieu, Cameron93 min
Feb 18, 7:58 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAcadia, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, Vermilion62 min
Feb 18, 8:01 AM CSTTornado WarningLCHCameron29 min
Feb 18, 8:07 AM CSTSpecial Marine WarningLCH53 min
Feb 18, 8:30 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHAcadia, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Vermilion60 min
Feb 18, 8:37 AM CSTTornado WarningLCHAcadia, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, Vermilion23 min
Feb 18, 8:38 AM CSTAreal Flood AdvisoryLCHAcadia, Calcasieu, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Saint Landry, Saint Martin and 1 more4 hr
Feb 18, 8:51 AM CSTTornado WarningLCHAcadia, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, Vermilion24 min
Feb 18, 9:00 AM CSTSpecial Marine WarningLCH60 min
Feb 18, 9:02 AM CSTRiver Flood WarningLCHCalcasieu7 days
Feb 18, 9:02 AM CSTRiver Flood WarningLCHAcadia, Allen, Evangeline, Jefferson Davis5 days
Feb 18, 9:02 AM CSTRiver Flood WarningLCHVernon3 days
Feb 18, 9:02 AM CSTRiver Flood WarningLCHBeauregard, Calcasieu13 hr
Feb 18, 9:09 AM CSTTornado WarningLCHAcadia, Lafayette, Vermilion36 min
Feb 18, 9:19 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHVermilion56 min
Feb 18, 9:22 AM CSTTornado WarningLCHAcadia, Lafayette38 min
Feb 18, 9:33 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHCameron, Vermilion57 min
Feb 18, 9:34 AM CSTTornado WarningLCHAcadia, Lafayette, Vermilion28 min
Feb 18, 9:41 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHIberia, Lafayette, Saint Martin, Vermilion64 min
Feb 18, 9:46 AM CSTTornado WarningLCHSaint Landry, Saint Martin29 min
Feb 18, 9:54 AM CSTSpecial Marine WarningLCH66 min
Feb 18, 10:09 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHIberia, Lafayette, Saint Martin, St. Mary, Vermilion66 min
Feb 18, 10:17 AM CSTSpecial Marine WarningLCH58 min
Feb 18, 10:20 AM CSTAreal Flood WarningLCHAcadia, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Saint Landry and 2 more6 hr
Feb 18, 10:46 AM CSTAreal Flood WarningLCHAcadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Evangeline, Jefferson Davis, Saint Landry3 hr
Feb 18, 10:54 AM CSTRiver Flood WarningLCHLafayette, Vermilion34 hr
Feb 18, 10:54 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLCHIberia, Saint Martin, St. Mary50 min
Feb 18, 11:01 AM CSTSpecial Marine WarningLCH43 min
Feb 18, 11:16 AM CSTAreal Flood WarningLCHBeauregard, Calcasieu4 hr
Feb 18, 3:41 PM CSTAreal Flood AdvisoryLCHIberia, Saint Martin, Vermilion109 min

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.