Louisiana, 2001

Damaging Wind in Louisiana, March 14, 2001

March 14, 2001 · NWS LCH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Several trees were downed.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$5,000
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.

Several trees were downed.

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 14, 5:50 PM CST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 14, 5:50 PM CST, 2 hours 30 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
550 PM CST WED MAR 14 2001

WILL SHORTLY BE UPDATING ZONES FOR TORNADO WATCH 64...REPLACING
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 63.

RATHER BUSY THIS AFTERNOON. LCH 88D SHOWING WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS NOW OVER THE COASTAL WATERS TRACKING NORTHEAST. A FEW
CELLS APPROACHING SEVERE LIMITS. SPC SUGGESTING WATCH MAY BE
UPCOMING AS UPPER TROUGH ADVANCES INTO REGION.

WILL CONTINUE TO MENTION SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE IN THIS EVENINGS
FORECAST AS UPPER TROUGH MOVES INTO EAST TEXAS WITH STRONG DIVERGENCE
INDICATED BY MODELS. 0-3 KM HELICITY VALUES EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH WITH
MESO ETA SHOWING 1371 M2/S2 AT LCH AT 00Z. THIS A RESULT OF EASTERLY
SURFACE WINDS...VEERING TO THE SOUTH AT 8H WHILE INCREASING TO 50
TO 60 KT...BECOMING NEAR WEST AT 7H.

LIMITING FACTOR TO SEVERE CONTINUES TO BE THE ABSENCE OF SURFACE
BASED MOISTURE...WITH DEW POINTS GENERALLY IN THE LOW TO MID 50S
ACROSS THE REGION. BELIEVE HOWEVER...EVEN WITHOUT THIS IN PLACE...
DYNAMICS WILL STILL BE SUFFICIENT TO SEE A FEW STORMS REACH SEVERE
LIMITS. MODELS GENERALLY IN AGREEMENT IN TRACKING STRENGTHENING
SURFACE LOW NOW OVER SOUTH TEXAS NORTHEAST TO SOUTH CENTRAL GULF
COAST THIS EVENING. ANY NORTHWARD DEVIATION AND RESULTING INCREASED
SURFACE MOISTURE FROM FORECAST TRACK HOWEVER...COULD BE SUFFICIENT TO
BRING A SUBSTANTIAL OUTBREAK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.

NOW AWAY FROM THE DOOM AND GLOOM. HIGH PRESSURE WILL FOLLOW THIS
SYSTEM INTO THE REGION...BRINGING SEASONABLY WARM TEMPERATURES
THURSDAY...COOLING THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY AS THE HIGH PLOWS
FURTHER INTO THE REGION. RAIN CHANCES RETURN FOR THE WEEKEND AS A
CLOSED LOW DEVELOPS OVER THE NW CONUS AND DROPS SOUTHEAST.

.LCH...TORNADO WATCH...TXZ182-215-216...LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055

.PRELIMINARY NUMBERS...
AEX 48/68/43/61/41 +0000
BPT 53/74/44/61/45 +0000
LCH 52/75/43/63/43 +0000
LFT 55/74/44/62/45 +0000

MARCOTTE

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Mar 14, 6:40 PM CST, 1 hour 40 minutes before
LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182-201-215-216-150200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
640 PM CST WED MAR 14 2001

...A TORNADO WATCH FOR NEWTON...ORANGE...AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES IN
SOUTHEAST TEXAS HAS BEEN CANCELLED...

A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAS MOVED EAST INTO SOUTHWEST
LOUISIANA.  THE LINE WAS MOVING EAST TO NORTHEAST AT 60 MPH.  THE
THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER HAS ENDED OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS AS THE UPPER
LEVEL SUPPORT AND THE INSTABILITY HAS ALL MOVED EAST OF SOUTHEAST
TEXAS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON THIS
SYSTEM.
Local storm report, Mar 14, 6:43 PM CST, 1 hour 37 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES, LA
643 PM CST WED MAR 14 2001

TIME(CST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0545 PM    SABINE PASS               TX   72 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
03/14/01   JEFFERSON                      REPORTED BY SAWRS WEATHER
                                          OBSERVER.
Special weather statement, Mar 14, 8:10 PM CST, 10 minutes before
LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182-201-215-216-150200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
810 PM CST WED MAR 14 2001

...A TORNADO WATCH FOR
CALCASIEU...ALLEN...CAMERON...BEAUREGARD...ACADIA...JEFFERSON
DAVIS...RAPIDES AND VERNON IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA HAS BEEN
CANCELLED...

A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAS MOVED EAST INTO SOUTHCENTRAL
LOUISIANA.  THE LINE WAS MOVING EAST TO NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH.  THE
THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER HAS ENDED OVER THE WESTERN PORTION OF
SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AS THE UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT AND THE INSTABILITY
HAS ALL MOVED EAST.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON THIS
SYSTEM.I

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 135 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:22 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Iberia

When
March 14, 8:20 PM CST
Where
Iberia County, New Iberia
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
30.000, -91.817

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: 5256593.