Flash Flood, Calcasieu
- When
- September 11, 1:00 PM CST to 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Calcasieu County, Lake Charles
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Reported by
- NWS STORM SURVEY
- Coordinates
- 30.229, -93.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Louisiana, September 11, 1998
Major flooding occured in downtown Lake Charles when up to 5 inches of rain fell across the city in less than two hours. Nearly every road was flooded with six inches to 2 feet of water over them, and vehicles driving on the roads caused homes and businesses to flood when wakes from the deep water crashed into the buildings.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
- $100,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 LCH wrote it up.
Major flooding occured in downtown Lake Charles when up to 5 inches of rain fell across the city in less than two hours. Nearly every road was flooded with six inches to 2 feet of water over them, and vehicles driving on the roads caused homes and businesses to flood when wakes from the deep water crashed into the buildings.
The radar
The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 18 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:01 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding and Rip Current in Guam, September 11 to 27, 1998
- Tornado in Louisiana, September 11, 1998
- Tornado in Louisiana, September 11, 1998
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Nevada, September 11, 1998
- Tornado in Louisiana, September 11, 1998
- Flash Flood in Utah, September 11, 1998
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, September 11, 1998
- Flash Flood in Texas, September 11, 1998
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, September 11 to 12, 1998
- Tornado in Louisiana, September 11, 1998
- Tornado in Louisiana, September 11, 1998
- Flash Flood in Texas, September 11, 1998
More
Every storm in Louisiana in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Louisiana, September 1998
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: 5667896.