Alert archive / Louisiana / Flash Flood Watches in 2013

Flash Flood Watch 4, NWS Lake Charles, LA

September 20, 201310 parishes in Louisiana; 4 counties in Texas

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this flash flood watch at Sep 20, 2013, 3:10 PM CDT for 10 parishes in Louisiana; 4 counties in Texas. It was in force for 14 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 20, 2013, 3:10 PM CDT (20:10 UTC)
Expired
Sep 21, 2013, 4:52 AM CDT
In force
14 hr
Issued by
NWS Lake Charles, LA
Flood severity
None

Counties Allen Parish, LA, Avoyelles Parish, LA, Beauregard Parish, LA, Cameron Parish, LA, Evangeline Parish, LA, Lafayette Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA, Saint Landry Parish, LA, Saint Martin Parish, LA, Vernon Parish, LA, Hardin County, TX, Jasper County, TX, Newton County, TX, Tyler County, TX

The radar

The Ft Polk radar (KPOE), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:09 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

Shreveport, LA (KBAD), launched 12:00Z, 8.2 hours before the alert went out and 218 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, Shreveport, LA at 12:00Z on 2013-09-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 195 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Shreveport, LA at 12:00Z on 2013-09-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 106 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
195 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-79 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
636 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
106 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
90 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood watch 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 watch went out at Sep 20, 12:33 PM CDT, 2 hours 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 20, 12:33 PM CDT, 2 hours 37 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 20, 5:51 AM CDT, 9 hours 19 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
551 AM CDT FRI SEP 20 2013

GMZ430-432-435-LAZ027>033-041>045-052>055-073-074-TXZ180-201-215-
216-259>262-211100-
SABINE LAKE-CALCASIEU LAKE-VERMILION BAY-VERNON-RAPIDES-AVOYELLES-
BEAUREGARD-ALLEN-EVANGELINE-ST. LANDRY-CALCASIEU-JEFFERSON DAVIS-
ACADIA-LAFAYETTE-UPPER ST. MARTIN-VERMILION-IBERIA-ST. MARY-
LOWER ST. MARTIN-WEST CAMERON-EAST CAMERON-TYLER-HARDIN-JEFFERSON-
ORANGE-NORTHERN JASPER-NORTHERN NEWTON-SOUTHERN JASPER-
SOUTHERN NEWTON-
551 AM CDT FRI SEP 20 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF THE NORTHWEST
GULF OF MEXICO...CENTRAL LOUISIANA...SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA...
SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA...WEST CENTRAL LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD
THROUGH TONIGHT AS AN UPPER TROUGH AND SURFACE FRONT MOVE THROUGH
THE AREA. WITH ABUNDANT MOISTURE OVER THE REGION...RAINFALL WILL
BE HEAVY AT TIMES. RAINFALL AMOUNTS BETWEEN 1 AND 2 INCHES CAN BE
EXPECTED MAINLY NORTHWEST OF A LINE FROM BEAUMONT TO ALEXANDRIA
WITH LOCALLY HIGHER TOTALS POSSIBLE. AT THIS TIME...DO NOT EXPECT
FLOODING TO BE A PROBLEM GIVEN RECENT DROUGHT CONDITIONS.
HOWEVER...LOCALIZED FLOODING COULD BECOME AN ISSUE IN AREAS OF
HIGH RAINFALL RATES AS WELL AS URBAN AREAS.

SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED ALTHOUGH STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF
PRODUCING OCCASIONAL TO FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING.

A COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY IS ALSO IN EFFECT DUE TO WATER PILE-UP
ALONG THE COAST DUE TO PERSISTENT EASTERLY WINDS. MINOR...MAINLY
NUISANCE...FLOODING WILL AFFECT SECONDARY ROADS AND LOW AREAS
NEAR COASTAL HIGHWAYS AS TIDES RUN FROM ONE TO ONE AND A HALF FEET
ABOVE NORMAL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY
WIDESPREAD MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CONTINUE SATURDAY AS
THE SYSTEM SLOWS AND BECOMES STALLED OVER THE REGION. ADDITIONAL
RAINFALL TOTALS BETWEEN 1 AND 3 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH
LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS. WIDESPREAD FLOODING IS NOT
EXPECTED...BUT MINOR FLOODING COULD OCCUR IN URBAN LOCATIONS AND
POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AS WELL AS LOW SPOTS NEAR CREEKS AND BAYOUS.

MINOR COASTAL FLOODING WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE AT LEAST THROUGH
SATURDAY AS EASTERLY WINDS CONTINUE.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
HOWEVER...INDIVIDUALS SHOULD MONITOR THE LATEST UPDATES AND
FORECASTS REGARDING THE POSSIBILITY OF LOCALIZED FLOODING.

GMZ450-452-455-470-472-475-211100-
COASTAL WATERS FROM CAMERON LA TO HIGH ISLAND TX OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM INTRACOASTAL CITY TO CAMERON LA OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM LOWER ATCHAFALAYA RIVER TO INTRACOASTAL CITY
LA OUT 20 NM-
WATERS FROM CAMERON LA TO HIGH ISLAND TX FROM 20 TO 60 NM-
WATERS FROM  INTRACOASTAL CITY TO CAMERON LA FROM 20 TO 60 NM-
WATERS FROM LOWER ATCHAFALAYA RIVER TO INTRACOASTAL CITY LA FROM
20 TO 60 NM-
551 AM CDT FRI SEP 20 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF THE NORTHWEST
GULF OF MEXICO.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT
EXERCISE CAUTION CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE COASTAL WATERS
AS MODERATE EASTERLY WINDS PERSIST ALONG WITH SEAS BETWEEN 3 AND 6
FEET.

SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED AS
A COLD FRONT APPROACHES THE REGION. OCCASIONAL TO FREQUENT CLOUD
TO WATER LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS AND VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE
POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGER STORMS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY
WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE SATURDAY...THEN
BECOME MORE SCATTERED INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. OCCASIONAL TO FREQUENT
CLOUD TO WATER LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS AND VERY HEAVY RAINFALL MAY
ACCOMPANY THE STRONGER STORMS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED.

24

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 20, 9:38 AM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryLCHAllen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Jefferson Davis3 hr
Sep 20, 12:29 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryLCHCalcasieu3 hr
Sep 20, 3:58 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryLCHCalcasieu3 hr
Sep 20, 10:47 AM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryLCHOrange3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Watches in Louisiana, 2013Flash Flood Watches in Texas, 2013Every flash flood watch in 2013

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.