Alert archive / Louisiana / Flash Flood Warnings in 2016

Flash Flood Warning 17, NWS Lake Charles, LA

March 18, 20164 parishes in Louisiana

NWS Lake Charles, LA issued this flash flood warning at Mar 18, 2016, 7:03 PM CDT for 4 parishes in 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 18, 2016, 7:03 PM CDT (00:03 UTC)
Expired: Mar 18, 2016, 10:00 PM CDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Lake Charles, LA
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

Counties Acadia Parish, LA, Lafayette Parish, LA, Saint Landry Parish, LA, Saint Martin Parish, LA

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 81 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:06 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 00:00Z, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 79 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1566 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 942 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 82 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.4
Supercell composite: 2.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

202 
WGUS54 KLCH 190003
FFWLCH
LAC001-055-097-099-190300-
/O.NEW.KLCH.FF.W.0017.160319T0003Z-160319T0300Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
703 PM CDT FRI MAR 18 2016

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAKE CHARLES  HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN ST. MARTIN PARISH IN SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA...
  SOUTHWESTERN ST. LANDRY PARISH IN CENTRAL LOUISIANA...
  NORTHERN ACADIA PARISH IN SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA...
  NORTH CENTRAL LAFAYETTE PARISH IN SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA...

* UNTIL 1000 PM CDT
    
* AT 703 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING
  HEAVY RAIN ACROSS THE WARNED AREA. 4 TO 6 INCHES OF RAIN HAVE
  FALLEN. FLASH FLOODING IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN SHORTLY.

* SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE... CHURCH
  POINT...LEONVILLE...ARNAUDVILLE...SUNSET AND GRAND COTEAU. 

ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN
THEWARNED AREA.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND NOW. ACT QUICKLY TO PROTECT YOUR LIFE.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODING.

TURN AROUND...DONT DROWN WHEN ENCOUNTERING FLOODED ROADS. MOST FLOOD
DEATHS OCCUR IN VEHICLES.

&&

LAT...LON 3036 9189 3029 9262 3031 9262 3032 9263
      3034 9262 3035 9263 3038 9263 3039 9261
      3043 9260 3048 9250 3048 9249 3051 9245
      3050 9192

$$

LANDRENEAU

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 18, 7:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Iberia, Saint Landry, Saint Martin	60 min
Mar 18, 7:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Vernon	57 min
Mar 18, 7:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LCH	Avoyelles, Saint Landry	26 min
Mar 18, 7:32 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	LCH	Vernon	43 min
Mar 18, 7:43 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	LCH	Avoyelles	62 min
Mar 18, 8:12 PM CDT	River Flood Warning	LCH	Lafayette, Vermilion	62 hr
Mar 18, 8:25 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	LCH	Iberia, Lafayette, Saint Landry, Saint Martin, St. Mary	3 hr
Mar 18, 8:40 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	LCH	Beauregard	65 min
Mar 18, 9:27 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	LCH	Assumption	48 min
Mar 18, 10:10 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	LCH	Calcasieu	50 min
Mar 19, 3:42 AM CDT	Wind Advisory	LCH	Allen, Avoyelles, Cameron, Evangeline, Lafayette, Saint Landry and 1 more	14 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Louisiana, 2016 Every flash flood warning in 2016

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.