Flash Flood in Louisiana, April 30, 2004

Name: Flash Flood in Louisiana, April 30, 2004
Start: 2004-04-30T14:00
End: 2004-04-30T16:00
Location: Louisiana

April 30, 2004 · NWS LCH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Over 3 inches of rain fell in less than 2 hours, resulting in serious street flooding. Some places had over 2 feet of water covering the roads.

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: $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.

Over 3 inches of rain fell in less than 2 hours, resulting in serious street flooding. Some places had over 2 feet of water covering the roads.

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 Apr 30, 1:47 PM CST, 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 1:47 PM CST, 13 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 30, 3:22 AM CST, 10 hours 38 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
422 AM CDT FRI APR 30 2004

GMZ450-455-470-475-LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182-201-215-216-
302030-
ACADIA-ALLEN-AVOYELLES-BEAUREGARD-CALCASIEU-CAMERON-
CAMERON, LA TO HIGH ISLAND, TX FROM 20 TO 60 NM-
CAMERON, LA TO HIGH ISLAND, TX OUT 20 NM-EVANGELINE-HARDIN-IBERIA-
JASPER-JEFFERSON-JEFFERSON DAVIS-LAFAYETTE-
LOWER ATCHAFALAYA RIVER TO CAMERON, LA FROM 20 TO 60 NM-
LOWER ATCHAFALAYA RIVER TO CAMERON, LA OUT 20 NM-LOWER ST MARTIN-
NEWTON-ORANGE-RAPIDES-ST LANDRY-ST MARY-TYLER-UPPER ST MARTIN-
VERMILION-VERNON-
422 AM CDT FRI APR 30 2004

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT...
AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA TODAY PRODUCING
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE BEST CHANCE FOR
THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTH-CENTRAL LOUISIANA
WHERE A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE. THE SYSTEM WILL MOVE
TO THE EAST OF THE AREA TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...
THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY ON SATURDAY AS A STRONG COLD FRONT PUSHES
ACROSS THE AREA. SOME THUNDERSTORMS COULD BE SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL
AND GUSTY WINDS POSSIBLE. THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL PUSH
OFFSHORE SATURDAY NIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY MORNING WITH DRY WEATHER
RETURNING SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO MID-WEEK.
SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT
ANTICIPATED.

WILEY

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 30, 1:26 PM CST, 34 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
226 PM CDT FRI APR 30 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0330 AM     MARINE TSTM WIND 49 SSW BURNS POINT      28.97N 91.96W
04/30/2004  46 MPH           ST. MARY           LA   PUBLIC

            REPORTED BY PLATFORM IN SOUTH MARSH ISLAND 10.

&&

THM

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 111 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:57 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Lafayette

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Lafayette County, Lafayette
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 30.207, -92.064 (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: 5393198.