Name: Damaging Wind in Louisiana, May 17, 2002
Start: 2002-05-17T12:15
End: 2002-05-17T12:15
Location: Louisiana

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: $2,000
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.

A few trees and power lines were blown down.

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 17, 8:25 AM CST, 3 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 17, 8:25 AM CST, 3 hours 50 minutes before

SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
925 AM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

LINE OF TSTMS MOVG THRU SE TX AND EXTENDS OFFSHORE. MRNG SOUNDING
INDCG HIGH CAPES ALTHOUGH AT THIS TIME HELICITY REMAINS LOW. PRECIP
IS NOW 1.83 INCHES. THIS SYSTEM WILL MOVE THRU SW LA OVR THE NEXT
SEVERAL HOURS MOVG TO THE EAST AROUND 25 MPH.

IN ADDITION A FRONTAL SYS IS MOVG RAPIDLY TO THE SOUTHEAST AND WILL
MOVE INTO SRN LA BY THIS AFTN. WILL UPDATE ZONES TO REFLECT THESE
CHANGES.

.LCH...NONE.

.PRELIMINARY NUMBERS...
AEX 83/60/76/52/76/49  960000
BPT 82/69/79/58/77/55  962000
LCH 83/68/78/57/77/55  962000
LFT 84/69/78/58/77/55  962000

K. KUYPER

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 17, 9:04 AM CST, 3 hours 11 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES,LA
1004 AM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

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

0955 AM    JOHNSON BAYOU             LA   WIND DAMAGE
05/17/02   CAMERON                        PERSONNEL REPORTED
                                          NUMEROUS OUTSIDE ITEMS
                                          THROWN AROUND. NO INJURIES.

FN

Local storm report, May 17, 9:11 AM CST, 3 hours 4 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES,LA
1011 AM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

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

1008 AM    NEDERLAND                 TX   WIND DAMAGE
05/17/02   JEFFERSON                      BARN BLOWN DOWN

FN

Local storm report, May 17, 9:11 AM CST, 3 hours 4 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES,LA
1011 AM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

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

0918 AM    NEDERLAND                 TX   WIND DAMAGE
05/17/02   JEFFERSON                      BARN BLOWN DOWN

FN

Local storm report, May 17, 9:30 AM CST, 2 hours 45 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES, LA
1030 AM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

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

0910 AM    SEA RIM STATE PARK        TX   45 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
05/17/02   JEFFERSON                      REPORTED BY C-MAN STATION
                                          SRST2

FN

Local storm report, May 17, 11:25 AM CST, 50 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES, LA
1225 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

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

1130 AM    PECAN ISLAND              LA   WIND DAMAGE
05/17/02   VERMILION                      PECAN ISLAND SCHOOL
                                          REPORTED TREES DOWN AND
                                          POWER OUT. TREE DOWN ON
                                          POWERLINE ON HWY 82.
                                          ESTIMATE WINDS 50 TO 60
                                          MPH.

FN

Local storm report, May 17, 12:15 PM CST, 0 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES, LA
115 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

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

1125 AM    LYDIA                          LA   WIND DAMAGE
05/17/02   IBERIA                         WINDS ESTIMATED AT 60 MPH.

1225 PM    PATOUTVILLE                    LA   WIND DAMAGE
05/17/02   IBERIA                         TREE DOWN AND LARGE LIMBS
                                          FROM OTHER TREES REPORTED
                                          BLOWN DOWN.

KK

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, St. Mary

When: May 17, 12:15 PM CST
Where: St. Mary County, Morgan City
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 29.700, -91.200

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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Louisiana, May 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: 5300253.