Damaging Wind in Louisiana, September 19, 2002

Name: Damaging Wind in Louisiana, September 19, 2002
Start: 2002-09-19T21:00
End: 2002-09-19T21:00
Location: Louisiana

September 19, 2002 · NWS LCH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

High winds uprooted a huge oak tree on Perry Street in Oakdale. The tree pulled down power lines and blocked the street.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

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Tropical storms and surge
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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: $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.

High winds uprooted a huge oak tree on Perry Street in Oakdale. The tree pulled down power lines and blocked the street.

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 Sep 19, 8:07 PM CST, 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 19, 8:07 PM CST, 53 minutes before

SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
907 PM CDT THU SEP 19 2002

.UPDATE...
Minor cosmetic changes. Otherwise...zone package okay.

AT MID AND UPPER LEVELS...A TROUGH AXIS IS PROGGED TO MOVE EAST INTO
EASTERN TEXAS FRIDAY MORNING. TROUGH WILL WEAKEN FRIDAY NIGHT AS IT
TRIES TO MOVE EAST ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA WHILE BUTTING AGAINST
RIDGE OVER THE SOUTHEAST STATES.  ANOTHER TROUGH IS PROGGED TO BE
MOVING SOUTHEAST INTO CENTRAL TEXAS SATURDAY EVENING. SECOND TROUGH
AXIS SHOULD MOVE INTO THE LOCAL AREA SUNDAY.

AHEAD OF APPROACHING MID AND UPPER TROUGH...STRONG TO MODERATE LOW
TO MID LEVEL LIFT WILL MOVE INTO THE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT. LIFT
SHOULD WEAKEN OVER THE EASTERN PARTS OF THE AREA FRIDAY AFTERNOON.
SINKING AIR IS EXPECTED AREA WIDE BY FRIDAY EVENING. WEAK LIFT
COULD REDEVELOP MAINLY EASTERN PARTS OF THE AREA EAST OF A LOW TO MID
LEVEL TROUGH AXIS PROGGED TO PERSIST OVER WESTERN PARTS OF THE
FORECAST AREA FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY.

AT THE SURFACE...HIGH PRESSURE WILL EXTEND SOUTHWEST OVER THE
FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT THAT WILL BE MOVING
THROUGH NORTHEAST AND CENTRAL TEXAS. THE COLD FRONT SHOULD MOVE INTO
THE SOUTHEAST TEXAS PART OF THE AREA EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. FRONT
SHOULD MOVE EAST TO ABOUT MORGAN CITY LOUISIANA FRIDAY EVENING.
BEHIND THE FRONT...DRY AIR SHOULD SPREAD OVER ALL BUT THE EXTREME
EASTERN PARTS OF THE AREA BY LATE IN THE DAY FRIDAY. AIR WILL BE DRY
CENTRAL AND NORTHWESTERN PARTS OF THE AREA FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY
WITH A LITTLE MORE MOISTURE OVER THE SOUTHEAST EXTREMES.

CURRENT FORECASTS ARE THAT NOW TROPICAL STORM ISIDORE WILL REMAIN
WELL SOUTHEAST OR EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA DURING THE DAY-3 TO DAY-7
FORECAST PERIOD.

AHEAD OF THE FRONT...IN DEEP MOISTURE AND STRONG TO MODERATE LIFT...
CHANCES OF RAIN WILL BE HIGH TONIGHT. HIGH POPS WILL BE APPROPRIATE
AHEAD OF THE FRONT FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN PARTS OF THE AREA
FRIDAY. CHANCES OF RAIN WILL BE VERY LOW...EVEN OVER THE MORE MOIST
EASTERN EXTREMES OF THE AREA FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY.

.PRELIM NUMBERS...
       FR    SA    SU  F S S
AEX 75/85 65/86 65/87 881000
BPT 75/85 66/88 67/88 850000
LCH 76/87 67/87 67/87 861000
LFT 76/88 68/86 68/86 572111

.LCH...NONE.

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, Allen

When: September 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Allen County, Oakdale
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 30.817, -92.667

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

Every storm in Louisiana in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Louisiana, September 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: 5320085.