Louisiana, 2001

Damaging Wind in Louisiana, March 12, 2001

March 12, 2001 · NWS LCH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Over 15 homes and businesses received minor damage as winds in excess of 70 mph passed through town. The water works office, a church, and at least two mobile homes were damaged severely or destroyed.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$150,000
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.

Over 15 homes and businesses received minor damage as winds in excess of 70 mph passed through town. The water works office, a church, and at least two mobile homes were damaged severely or destroyed. The rest of the damage was tin and shingle damage to roofs. Several trees and power lines were also blown down. Damage also occurred in Marksville and Simmesport.

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 Mar 12, 2:36 AM CST, 5 hours 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 12, 2:36 AM CST, 5 hours 4 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
236 AM CST MON MAR 12 2001

AREA ON THE FRINGE OF SEVERE WEATHER THIS MORNING WITH A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCHES IN EFFECT UNTIL 12Z FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND ANOTHER SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT
UNTIL 12Z FOR EXTREME SOUTH-CENTRAL LOUISIANA. SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL LOUISIANA...
MAINLY DUE TO SOME LOW LEVEL SPEED AND DIRECTIONAL CONVERGENCE AND A
DIFFLUENT PATTERN ALOFT. HOWEVER...THE AREA I AM MOST CONCERNED
ABOUT IS THE WATCH TO THE WEST. CURRENTLY THERE IS A LINE OF STRONG
TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THAT EXTENDS FROM DALLAS TO SAN ANTONIO. THIS
LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE MOVING INTO EXTREME SOUTHEAST TEXAS
BY 12Z. COULD ALSO SEE SOME THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP OUT AHEAD OF THIS
LINE SINCE THE AIRMASS IS ALREADY FAIRLY UNSTABLE WITH LI VALUES OF
-4 TO -7 AND SBCAPE OF 1000 TO 1500 J/KG. THE AIRMASS WILL BECOME
EVEN MORE UNSTABLE AS THE DAY WEARS ON AS STEEPER MID LEVEL LAPSE
RATE AIR MOVES INTO THE AREA. WOULD EXPECT SEVERE WEATHER TO BE
POSSIBLE ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THE MID AFTERNOON HOURS.

THE COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THE 500 MB LOW THAT IS MOVING ACROSS
THE PLAINS WILL PUSH THROUGH THE AREA THIS EVENING AND ESSENTIALLY
PUTTING AND END TO THE PRECIPITATION.

THE NEXT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ON WEDNESDAY
NIGHT AND THURSDAY AS THE NEXT SYSTEM APPROACHES THE AREA.

WILL ONCE AGAIN GO WITH A BLEND OF AVN AND NGM MOS TEMPS.

10

.LCH...NONE.

PRELIM NUMBERS...
AEX 75/51/72/47 8200
BPT 77/54/74/53 8200
LCH 76/54/74/52 8200
LFT 78/57/73/52 >8200

The radar

The Ft Polk radar (KPOE), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 13:40 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Avoyelles

When
March 12, 7:40 AM CST
Where
Avoyelles County, Bordelonville
Property damage
$150,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
31.100, -91.917

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Louisiana in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Louisiana, March 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: 5237469.