Lightning, Iberia
- When
- May 12, 6:33 PM CST
- Where
- Iberia County, Delcambre
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 29.514, -91.840 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Louisiana, May 12, 2001
A 28 year old man died when he was struck by lightning while he was fishing along the Delcambre canal. Another fisherman 25 yards away was not injured.
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
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- 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.
A 28 year old man died when he was struck by lightning while he was fishing along the Delcambre canal. Another fisherman 25 yards away was not injured.
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 May 12, 1:10 PM CST, 5 hours 23 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 12, 1:10 PM CST, 5 hours 23 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 210 PM CDT SAT MAY 12 2001 WITH DAYTIME HEATING SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON HAS BEEN FOCUSED MAINLY IN THREE AREAS OVER THE REGION. FIRST IS WITH THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY IN NORTHEAST TEXAS AND NORTHERN LOUISIANA. SECOND IS ACROSS THE NORTHERN SECTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA FROM THE LAKES AREA OF TEXAS INTO CENTRAL LOUISIANA. FINALLY... THE THIRD AREA IS RIGHT ALONG THE COAST IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SEA BREEZE CONVERGENCE BOUNDARY. MEANWHILE...WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS UPPER LEVEL TROF MOVING SOUTHEAST INTO THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. REMAINDER OF THIS AFTERNOON...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. WITH COOLING TEMPS AND DRIER AIR IN THE MID LEVELS MOVING IN...STORMS WILL HAVE TO BE WATCHED CLOSELY FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF HAIL. OTHERWISE...WEAK VERTICAL WIND PROFILE MEANS SLOW MOVING STORMS BRINGING THE POSSIBILITY OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. FORECAST PERIOD...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH THIS EVENING WITH THE LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING AND UPPER TROF PULLS OFF TO THE EAST. SURFACE BOUNDARY WILL PUSH TOWARD THE COAST AND BECOME DIFFUSE BY SUNDAY MORNING. THIS WILL BRING NORTHERLY SURFACE WINDS WITH SLIGHTLY LOWER DEWPOINTS FOR SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. MID AND UPPER LEVEL RIDGING TO BUILD IN FROM THE WEST. THIS WILL BRING MUCH DRIER AIR IN THE MID LEVELS AND CAP THE ATMOSPHERE. ONLY POPS ON SUNDAY WILL BE ISOLATED RIGHT ALONG THE COAST OR JUST OFFSHORE WHERE LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE BOUNDARY SETS UP. EXTENDED...MID AND UPPER LEVEL RIDGING LOOK TO HOLD THROUGH -THE WEEK. THEREFORE...WILL KEEP RAIN CHANCES OUT OF THE FORECAST. .LCH...NONE. .PRELIM NUMBERS... BPT 65/84/63/86/66 2-000 LCH 63/84/61/86/65 2-000 LFT 63/84/61/87/65 2-000 AEX 61/85/58/87/62 20000 7-RUA
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 12, 4:15 PM CST, 2 hours 18 minutes before
LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182-201-215-216-032300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 515 PM CDT SAT MAY 12 2001 ...AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS... LAKE CHARLES DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM TYLER COUNTY OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS EAST TO NEAR LAFAYETTE PARISH IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA. GUSTY WINDS...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND SMALL HAIL COULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE THUNDERSTORM. THIS AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IS MOVING SOUTH AT NEAR 10 MPH. PERSONS TO THE SOUTH OF THESE STORMS...ESPECIALLY IN LAKE CHARLES AREA FOR CONTRABAND DAYS SHOULD SEEK COVER. SOME LOCAL FLOODING AND PEA SIZE HAIL HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPORTED OVER THE AREA. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR COULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS. PERSONS IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA SHOULD CONSIDER DELAYING TRAVELING TO THEIR DESTINATIONS FOP THE NEXT 1 TO 2 HOURS. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BEGIN DISSIPATING VERY RAPIDLY WITHIN THE NEXT 2 HOURS. FLATT
Special weather statement, May 12, 4:55 PM CST, 1 hour 38 minutes before
LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182-201-215-216-130000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 515 PM CDT SAT MAY 12 2001 ...AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS... LAKE CHARLES DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM TYLER COUNTY OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS EAST TO NEAR LAFAYETTE PARISH IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA. GUSTY WINDS...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND SMALL HAIL COULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE THUNDERSTORM. THIS AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IS MOVING SOUTH AT NEAR 10 MPH. PERSONS TO THE SOUTH OF THESE STORMS...ESPECIALLY IN LAKE CHARLES AREA FOR CONTRABAND DAYS SHOULD SEEK COVER. SOME LOCAL FLOODING AND PEA SIZE HAIL HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPORTED OVER THE AREA. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR COULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS. PERSONS IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA SHOUGLD CONSIDER DELAYING TRAVELING TO THEIR DESTINATIONS FOP THE NEXT 1 TO 2 HOURS. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BEGIN DISSIPATING VERY RAPIDLY WITHIN THE NEXT 2 HOURS. FLATT
The radar
The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 149 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:30 UTC.
Event by event
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, Iberia | 2001-05-12 | 28 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
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
- Rip Current in California, May 12, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, May 12, 2001
- Lightning Strike in Texas, May 12, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, May 12, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 12, 2001
- Damaging Wind in New York, May 12, 2001
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Massachusetts, May 12, 2001
- Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, May 12, 2001
- Hail in Florida, May 12, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 12, 2001
- Excessive Heat in Massachusetts, May 12, 2001
- Hail in Texas, May 12, 2001
More
Every storm in Louisiana in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Louisiana, May 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: 5259623.