Flash Flood in Louisiana, November 5, 2002

Name: Flash Flood in Louisiana, November 5, 2002
Start: 2002-11-05T05:20
End: 2002-11-05T07:00
Location: Louisiana

November 5, 2002 · NWS LCH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Several roads were closed due to high water after 3 inches of rain fell on saturated grounds.

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.

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Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
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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.

Several roads were closed due to high water after 3 inches of rain fell on saturated grounds.

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 Nov 5, 1:50 AM CST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 5, 1:50 AM CST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
150 AM CST TUE NOV 5 2002

BROAD SFC LOW JUST OFF THE UPPER TX COAST PRODUCING LARGE AREA OF
MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL OVER THE COASTAL WATERS INTO S LA. FLOOD
WARNING IN EFFECT FOR CAMERON...CALCASIEU...AND JEFF DAVIS UNTIL 5
AM.

THIS LOW WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTHEAST EARLY THIS MORNING...MOVING
ASHORE JEFFERSON COUNTY/CAMERON PARISH SHORTLY...AND EXPECTED TO BE
IN NE LA BY 12Z THIS MORNING. IN THE MEANTIME...VERY HEAVY RAIN WILL
FALL ACROSS ALL OF LA FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. BY MID MORNING...
THE RAIN WILL BEGIN TO TAPER OFF IN THE NW ZONES JUST S OF LFK...
SLOWLY ENDING FROM NW TO SE DURING THE DAY. THIS IS DUE TO THE
MID/UPPER TROF SWINGING EAST...BRINGING SIGNIFICANTLY DRIER AND
COOLER AIR TO THE REGION. FOR TODAY...ANOTHER 2 TO 4 INCHES OF
RAINFALL WILL LIKELY IMPACT THE AREA...SO THE FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES
THIS MORNING. THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER EXISTS IN THE WEAK
WARM SECTOR...WHICH WILL ONLY INCLUDE SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA THIS
MORNING...SO WILL WORD THOSE ZONES ACCORDINGLY.

AS THE SFC HIGH BUILDS EAST...SKIES WILL CLEAR TONIGHT. STRONGER N
WINDS FOR TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY AS WELL. COOL AND CLEAR WEATHER IS
EXPECTED WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. BY FRIDAY...THE HIGH WILL HAVE
MOVED EAST...AND A RETURN FLOW WILL SET UP BY AFTERNOON. THE NEXT
STORM SYSTEM WILL BEGIN TO TAKE SHAPE OVER THE MIDWEST BY SATURDAY...
BRINGING A CHANCE OF PRECIP ALONG THE NEXT FRONT TO APPROACH SUNDAY.
THE MRF DOESNT ADVERTISE ANYTHING NICE FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK AS AN
EVEN STRONGER TROF DIGS INTO OLD MEXICO...WITH OUR AREA RECEIVING
THE MOIST SW FLOW AND LOTS OF PRECIP.

.LCH...FLOOD WATCH TODAY ALL ZONES.
...LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182-201-215-216.

.PRELIMINARY NUMBERS...
    TU WE    TH    TW T
AEX 62 45/68 38/65 +2000
BPT 66 48/70 42/67 +2000
LCH 67 49/70 42/67 +2000
LFT 69 50/70 42/67 +4000

Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 5, 3:30 AM CST, 1 hour 50 minutes before

LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182-201-215-216-061200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
330 AM CST TUE NOV 5 2002

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

.TODAY AND TONIGHT...
A SURFACE LOW ALONG AN OLD FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL MOVE NORTHEAST
TODAY ACROSS LOUISIANA...BRINGING WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS THIS MORNING INTO THE EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS. THE MAIN
CONCERN TODAY WILL BE FLOODING...WITH ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS
BETWEEN 2 TO 4 INCHES. SINCE THE GROUND ACROSS THE AREA IS COMPLETELY
SATURATED...ANY ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINS WOULD QUICKLY RUN OFF AND
PRODUCE FLOODING.

AS THE SURFACE LOW MOVES NORTHEAST...FAVORABLE CONDITIONS WILL EXIST
ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA FOR A FEW THUNDERSTORMS TO POSSIBLY
BECOME SEVERE LATER THIS MORNING INTO THE EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION...
THE ACTIVIATION OF SPOTTERS MAY BE REQUIRED TODAY.

.WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY...
A WELCOME RELIEF WILL COME IN THE FORM OF A LARGE HIGH PRESSURE
SYSTEM SETTLING OVER THE AREA...GIVING CLEAR AND COOL CONDITIONS
THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY. BY SUNDAY...A SERIES OF UPPER AIR
DISTURBANCES APPROACHING FROM THE WEST WILL KEEP THE CHANCE OF
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK.

LANDRENEAU

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Evangeline

When: November 5, 5:20 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Evangeline County, Ville Platte
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 30.729, -92.406 (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, November 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: 5323204.