Lightning, St. Landry
- When
- August 1, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- St. Landry County, Plaisance
- Property damage
- $75,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 30.599, -92.006 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Louisiana, August 1, 2001
Lightning started a fire in the attic, which quickly spread throughout the house, destroying it.
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
- $75,000
- 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.
Lightning started a fire in the attic, which quickly spread throughout the house, destroying it.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at Aug 1, 2:30 AM CST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 1, 2:30 AM CST, 3 hours 30 minutes before
SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 330 AM CDT WED AUG 1 2001 LATEST ANALYSIS SHOWS HIGHER MOISTURE VALUES MOVING INTO THE THE EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER OVER 2 INCHES AND MEAN RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES BETWEEN 75 AND 80 PERCENT. RADAR INDICATES A FEW SHOWERS RE-DEVELOPING IN THIS MOIST AIR OVER PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST MS AND SOUTHEAST LA. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS MID AND UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS WITH SHORT WAVE PUSHING SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OUT OF MS/AL. TROPICAL WAVE OVER NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN AND CUBA MOVING TO THE WEST-NORTHWEST AT 15 TO 20 MPH AND STILL APPEARS DISORGANIZED. MOISTURE WILL BE ON THE INCREASE TODAY AS PWAT INCREASES TO OVER 2 INCHES AND MEAN RELATIVE HUMIDITY TO OVER 75 PERCENT. OLD SURFACE TROF/LOW LEVEL MOISTURE CONVERGENCE LINE WILL MOVE WEST THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA. THIS WILL HELP FOCUS SCATTERED SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY BY AFTERNOON WHEN CONVECTIVE TEMPS AROUND 90 ARE REACHED. A SHORT WAVE AND JET MAX ROTATING AROUND THE UPPER RIDGE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA...AND HELP ENHANCE ACTIVITY. ON THURSDAY...UPPER LEVEL RIDGE STRENGTHENS OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS. THIS WILL HELP PUSH DRIER AIR OVER THE FORECAST AREA WITH PWAT DECREASING TO NEAR 1.5 INCHES AND MEAN RH DROPPING TO 60 PERCENT. THUS...WILL SEE A DECREASE IN SHOWER ACTIVITY WITH. ALSO... WITH 700 MB WINDS OUT OF THE EAST/NORTHEAST ANY SEABREEZE ACTIVITY THAT DOES DEVELOP WILL NOT MAKE MUCH PROGRESS INLAND. EXTENDED...FRIDAY LOOKS LIKE A REPEAT OF THURSDAY WITH RELATIVELY DRY AIR HOLDING IN PLACE. FORECAST FOR WEEKEND DEPENDS ON MOVEMENT OF TROPICAL WAVE. AT THIS POINT LOOKS LIKE RIDGE WILL HOLD OVER THE FORECAST AREA KEEPING DEEP MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH THE SYSTEM TO THE SOUTH. HOWEVER...TIGHTENING GRADIENT BETWEEN SYSTEM AND HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE MID ATLANTIC SHOULD INCREASE WINDS AND SEAS OVER THE MARINE AREA. .LCH...NONE .PRELIMINARY NUMBERS... AEX 93/74/95/73 411- BPT 91/76/92/75 4121 LCH 90/75/92/74 4121 LFT 90/75/92/74 4121 7-RUA
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heat in Missouri, August 1 to 5, 2001
- Heat in Missouri, August 1 to 9, 2001
- Heat in Missouri, August 1 to 2, 2001
- Drought in Iowa, August 1 to 23, 2001
- Heat in Minnesota, August 1, 2001
- Flooding in North Dakota, August 1 to 31, 2001
- Heat in Illinois, August 1, 2001
- High Wind in Florida, August 1, 2001
- Heat in Texas, August 1, 2001
- Heat in Louisiana, August 1, 2001
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Wisconsin, August 1 to 2, 2001
- Wildfire in California, August 1 to 31, 2001
More
Every storm in Louisiana in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Louisiana, August 2001
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: 5264004.