Flash Flood in Louisiana, December 3, 2002

Name: Flash Flood in Louisiana, December 3, 2002
Start: 2002-12-03T16:00
End: 2002-12-03T18:00
Location: Louisiana

December 3, 2002 · NWS LCH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Many roads were closed due to high water.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $10,000
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.

Many roads were closed due to high water.

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 Dec 3, 3:33 PM CST, 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 3, 3:33 PM CST, 27 minutes before

SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
333 PM CST TUE DEC 3 2002

.TONIGHT...
A stationary front will extend west to east across the Lakes Region
of southeast Texas and through central Louisiana. Overrunning rains
will prevail through the evening hours.

Around midnight...a wave cyclone will form on the frontal surface...
creating a warm sector wedge within the prefrontal air across
southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana. Overrunning rains will give
way to showers and thunderstorms overnight...organizing in lines.

Mean areal precipitation will range between 2 and 3 inches...with
local amounts between 3 and 5 inches. With the soil at or near field
capacity...flooding is likely. A flood watch is in effect for all but
south central Louisiana.

.WEDNESDAY...
The wave cyclone will propagate northeast into central Mississippi.
A trailing cold front will advance through the forecast area...
exiting south central Louisiana around noon. Rains will be ending
and temperatures will be falling in the afternoon.

.PRELIMINARY NUMBERS...
AEX 51/51/34/45/28/50 ++0000
BPT 57/57/38/50/33/54 ++0000
LCH 57/57/38/50/32/53 ++0000
LFT 61/61/39/49/32/54 ++2000

.LCH...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY GMZ450-455-470-475.
    ...FLOOD WATCH TXZ180>182-201-215-216-LAZ027>033-041-042-051.

Trares

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 3, 6:00 AM CST, 10 hours before

LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182-201-215-216-041100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
600 AM CST TUE DEC 3 2002

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS...CENTRAL...
SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA.

.TODAY AND TONIGHT...
A SURFACE LOW COMBINED WITH AN UPPER-LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND RICH GULF
MOISTURE WILL ALLOW FOR WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY
AND TONIGHT. THE STRONGER STORMS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA AROUND
MIDNIGHT WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. ACROSS
THE COASTAL WATERS, A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR TODAY
AND TONIGHT.

HAZARDOUS WEATHER MAY BE POSSIBLE LATE TONIGHT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION...
THE ACTIVATION OF SPOTTERS MAY BE REQUIRED TONIGHT.

.WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY...
A STRONG FRONT WILL PUSH THROUGH THE REGION WEDNESDAY MORNING WITH
THE POSSIBILITY OF A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING DAMAGING
WINDS.

COLD CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE WILL BRING NEAR FREEZING TEMPERATURES
TO CENTRAL LOUISIANA AND INTERIOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS ON FRIDAY
AND SATURDAY MORNING. THE HIGH WILL SHIFT EAST LATE IN THE WEEKEND
ALLOWING FOR A GRADUAL WARMING TREND.

COASTAL WATERS...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CONDITIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE
THROUGH WEDNESDAY AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE COASTAL WATERS
AND STRONG HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS BEHIND THE FRONT.

OTHERWISE...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Dec 3, 2:00 PM CST, 2 hours before

LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182-201-215-216-032200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
200 PM CST TUE DEC 3 2002

...HEAVY RAINS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY...RECORDS
BROKEN AND SOME READY TO BE BROKEN AT LAKE CHARLES AND BEAUMONT...

HEAVY RAINS BEGAN IN THE LAKE CHARLES AREA AROUND 6 AM THIS
MORNING AND WILL CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY. RAINFALL AMOUNTS AS
OF 200 PM HAD REACHED 3.97 INCHES AT LAKE CHARLES...BEATING THE OLD
DAILY RECORD OF 2.94 INCHES SET IN 1994. ANOTHER RECORD THAT WILL
MORE THAN LIKELY BE BROKEN THIS AFTERNOON IS FOR ANNUAL RAINFALL. THE
RECORD IS 79.88 INCHES SET IN 1919. WE HAVE RECEIVED 79.67 INCHES FOR
THE YEAR TO DATE...WITH MORE RAIN EXPECTED THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

RAINS BEGAN AROUND MIDNIGHT AT BEAUMONT AND WILL CONTINUE INTO
WEDNESDAY. AS OF 200 PM...3.15 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN...WITH MORE
EXPECTED. THE DAILY RECORD OF 3.74 INCHES...SET IN 1949...WILL LIKELY
BE BROKEN THIS EVENING.

MOGGED/LEBO

Local storm report, Dec 3, 2:27 PM CST, 1 hour 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES, LA
227 PM CST TUE DEC 3 2002

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

1100 AM    PORT ARTHUR               TX   FLOOD
12/03/02   JEFFERSON                      PORT ARTHUR POLICE
                                          REPORTED FORTY TO FIFTY
                                          HOMES FLOODED IN SOUTH PORT
                                          ARTHUR.

1130 AM    PORT ARTHUR               TX   FLOOD
12/03/02   JEFFERSON                      PORT ARTHUR WATER PLANT
                                          HAD 5.00 INCHES OF RAIN
                                          SINCE EVENT BEGAN. REPORTED
                                          LOTS OF FLOODING ACROSS THE
                                          WEST AND SOUTHSIDE OF THE
                                          CITY.

0220 PM    7 S LAKE CHARLES          LA   FLOOD
12/03/02   CALCASIEU                      OFFICE OF EMERGENCY
                                          MANAGEMENT REPORTS HIGH
                                          WATER ON TOM
                                          HEBERT...LINCOLN...AND TANK
                                          FARM ROADS.

DML

Local storm report, Dec 3, 3:22 PM CST, 38 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES, LA
322 PM CST TUE DEC 3 2002

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

0300 PM    LAKE CHARLES              LA   FLOOD
12/03/02   CALCASIEU                      PRIEN LAKE ROAD ACROSS SW
                                          LAKE CHARLES FLOODED WITH
                                          SEVERAL VEHICLES STALLED.

DML

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 18 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Calcasieu

When: December 3, 4:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Calcasieu County, Lake Charles
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 30.229, -93.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in Louisiana in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Louisiana, December 2002

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: 5324017.