Flash Flood, St. Bernard
- When
- May 19, 4:00 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- St. Bernard County, Arabi
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Coordinates
- 29.874, -89.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood and Flood in Louisiana, May 19, 1997
Heavy rain occurred over the upper portion of St. Bernard Parish and the southeast corner of New Orleans.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS LIX wrote it up.
Heavy rain occurred over the upper portion of St. Bernard Parish and the southeast corner of New Orleans. A National Weather Service Cooperative observer in Chalmette recorded 5.14 inches of rain during the afternoon and early evening. St. Bernard Parish emergency management reported much greater rainfall amounts in the Arabi area where several homes were flooded and many streets were impassable due to flooding. Adjacent areas of New Orleans had considerable street flooding.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Orleans
- When
- May 19, 4:00 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Orleans County, New Orleans
- Coordinates
- 30.069, -89.928 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Damaging Wind in California, May 19, 1997
- Heavy Rain in Pennsylvania, May 19, 1997
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, May 19, 1997
- Lightning Strike in California, May 19, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, May 19, 1997
- Flash Flood in California, May 19, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 19, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, May 19, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 19, 1997
- Flash Flood and Flood in Mississippi, May 19, 1997
- Flash Flood in Utah, May 19, 1997
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 19, 1997
More
Every storm in Louisiana in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Louisiana, May 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5602244, 5602245.