Flash Flooding in Louisiana, April 25, 2004

Name: Flash Flooding in Louisiana, April 25, 2004
Start: 2004-04-25T16:00
End: 2004-04-25T21:00
Location: Louisiana

April 25, 2004 · NWS LIX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Thunderstorms dumped up to twelve inches of rain during the afternoon and evening hours in sections of Jefferson, St. Charles, St.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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: $457,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 LIX wrote it up.

Thunderstorms dumped up to twelve inches of rain during the afternoon and evening hours in sections of Jefferson, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, and St. James Parishes. The hardest hit area was Norco in St. Charles Parish where 110 homes and businesses flooded. Elsewhere in St. Charles Parish another 19 homes and businesses were flooded. In Kenner in Jefferson Parish up to 10 homes flooded and 6.5 inches of rain was recorded at the New Orleans Louis Armstrong International Airport. Two homes flooded in Gramercy in St. James Parish and 1 house flooded in St. John the Baptist Parish. Numerous roadways were flooded across the parishes and a number of automobiles were flooded.

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 New Orleans, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 24, 4:45 PM CST, 23 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 24, 4:45 PM CST, 23 hours 15 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 24, 4:45 PM CST, 23 hours 15 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
545 PM CDT SAT APR 24 2004

LAZ034>040-046>050-056>070-MSZ068>071-077-080>082-250000-
AMITE-ASCENSION-ASSUMPTION-EAST BATON ROUGE-EAST FELICIANA-HANCOCK-
HARRISON-IBERVILLE-JACKSON-LIVINGSTON-LOWER JEFFERSON-
LOWER LAFOURCHE-LOWER PLAQUEMINES-LOWER ST BERNARD-LOWER TERREBONNE-
ORLEANS-PEARL RIVER-PIKE-POINTE COUPEE-ST CHARLES-ST HELENA-ST JAMES-
ST JOHN THE BAPTIST-ST TAMMANY-TANGIPAHOA-UPPER JEFFERSON-
UPPER LAFOURCHE-UPPER PLAQUEMINES-UPPER ST BERNARD-UPPER TERREBONNE-
WALTHALL-WASHINGTON-WEST BATON ROUGE-WEST FELICIANA-WILKINSON-
545 PM CDT SAT APR 24 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST
LOUISIANA AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST...SOUTH CENTRAL AND COASTAL
MISSISSIPPI.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING INTO THE
WESTERN HALF OF THE OUTLOOK AREA THIS EVENING AND WILL CONTINUE TO
MOVE EASTWARD AND WEAKEN THROUGH THE NIGHT. OTHERWISE NO HAZARDOUS
WEATHER IS EXPECTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ON SUNDAY AS A COLD
FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. THE RAIN IS
EXPECTED TO DIMINISH MONDAY MORNING AS THE FRONT MOVES EAST OF THE
OUTLOOK AREA.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.

THERE WILL BE ANOTHER CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY
AND SATURDAY AS ANOTHER COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE REGION.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

THE ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS...HAM RADIO OPERATORS AND EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL...IN SUPPORT OF SEVERE WEATHER OPERATIONS...MAY
BE REQUESTED LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, St. Charles

When: April 25, 4:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: St. Charles County, Countywide
Property damage: $400,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 29.906, -90.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Jefferson

When: April 25, 4:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County, North Portion
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 29.681, -90.098 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, St. James

When: April 25, 4:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: St. James County, Countywide
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 30.026, -90.796 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, St. John the Baptist

When: April 25, 4:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: St. John the Baptist County, Countywide
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 30.127, -90.471 (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 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Louisiana, April 2004

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5392967, 5392968, 5392969, 5392970.