Three to five inches of rain fell across Calcasieu Parish in less than 3 hours, resulting in flash flooding along roadways in the Sulphur to Lake Charles areas.
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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.
The episode as NWS LCH wrote it up.
Three to five inches of rain fell across Calcasieu Parish in less than 3 hours, resulting in flash flooding along roadways in the Sulphur to Lake Charles areas.
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 Jul 15, 6:53 AM CST, 1 hour 22 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 753 AM CDT TUE JUL 15 2008 .UPDATE... HAVE UPDATED ZONES AND GRIDS TO UP POPS IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA THIS MORNING. COMPLEX OF SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER THAT AREA ALONG OLD SURFACE BOUNDARY AND GOOD UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE ALOFT. HAVE RECEIVED NEARLY 2 INCHES OF RAIN HERE AT KLCH DURING THE LAST 1 1/2 HOURS. THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD TAPER OFF BY NOON AS DRIER AIR MOVES INTO THE AREA AND UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVES AWAY. && RUA && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 319 AM CDT TUE JUL 15 2008/ SYNOPSIS... A WEAK SURFACE BOUNDARY IS HARD TO FIND THIS MORNING AND IS LIKELY WAVERING AROUND THE I-10 CORRIDOR TO THE COAST. LATEST WATER VAPOR AND MOISTURE PROFILES SHOW MOIST AXIS CURRENTLY ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES AROUND 2 INCHES. HOWEVER...DRY SUBSIDENT AIR...WITH PWAT LESS THAN 1 INCH IS NOTED JUST NORTHEAST OF THE FORECAST AREA GRADUALLY HEADING TO THE SOUTHWEST. LATEST RADAR IMAGERY SHOWS SOME SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS JUST OFFSHORE OF THE SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA COAST. DISCUSSION... EXPECT SURFACE BOUNDARY TO WAVER ACROSS THE SOUTHERN ZONES AND GRADUALLY WASH OUT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. NORTHEAST FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH DRY SUBSIDENT AIR FROM THE OHIO AND MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEYS INTO THE FORECAST AREA. THEREFORE...WOULD EXPECT JUST A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...MAINLY THIS AFTERNOON...SOUTHWEST OF A LINE FROM TOLEDO BEND TO LAFAYETTE...WHERE SURFACE BOUNDARY...AND DECENT RESIDUAL MOISTURE WILL BE FOUND. NORTHEAST OF THIS LINE...ENOUGH DRY AIR SHOULD BE IN THE MID LEVELS TO PUT A LID ON CONVECTION. BY WEDNESDAY...EXPECT DRY AIR IN THE MID AND UPPER LEVELS TO BE OVER THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA AND THIS SHOULD SUPPRESS ANY SHOWER ACTIVITY. THE DRY...HOWEVER HOT...FORECAST WILL THEN CONTINUE THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. OVER THE WEEKEND...WEAK TROPICAL WAVE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN GULF OF MEXICO. AREA WILL BEGIN TO SEE MORE OF A SOUTHEAST FLOW WITH AN INCREASE IN MOISTURE AS THE SYSTEM MOVES OFF TO THE WEST. THE INCREASE IN MOISTURE WILL BE ENOUGH TO CALL FOR A CHANCE OF MAINLY DIURNAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. AVIATION... ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE LATER THIS AFTERNOON NEAR THE COASTAL TAF SITES. OTHERWISE...VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED. MARINE... A WEAK SURFACE TROF WILL BE FOUND NEAR THE COAST TODAY AND WASH- OUT BY WEDNESDAY WITH AN ISOLATED CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. OTHERWISE...A WEAK PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL BE NOTED OVER THE COASTAL WATERS FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS WITH MAINLY LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BEGIN TO RIDGE ACROSS THE NORTHERN GULF BY THE WEEKEND WITH A LIGHT SOUTHEAST FLOW EXPECTED. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... KLCH 93 72 95 73 / 50 10 10 10 KBPT 92 73 93 73 / 30 10 10 10 KAEX 94 67 97 69 / 10 10 10 10 KLFT 94 70 95 72 / 20 10 10 10 && .LCH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... LA...NONE. TX...NONE. GM...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 446 AM CDT TUE JUL 15 2008 GMZ450-452-455-470-472-475-LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182- 201-215-216-161100- COASTAL WATERS FROM CAMERON, LA TO HIGH ISLAND, TX OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM INTRACOASTAL CITY TO CAMERON, LA OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM LOWER ATCHAFALAYA RIVER TO INTRACOASTAL CITY, LA OUT 20 NM- WATERS FROM CAMERON, LA TO HIGH ISLAND, TX EXTENDING FROM 20 NM TO 60 NM- WATERS FROM INTRACOASTAL CITY, LA TO CAMERON, LA EXTENDING FROM 20 NM TO 60 NM- WATERS FROM LOWER ATCHAFALAYA RIVER TO INTRACOASTAL CITY, LA EXTENDING FROM 20 NM TO 60 NM-VERNON-RAPIDES-AVOYELLES-BEAUREGARD- ALLEN-EVANGELINE-ST. LANDRY-CALCASIEU-JEFFERSON DAVIS-ACADIA- LAFAYETTE-UPPER ST. MARTIN-CAMERON-VERMILION-IBERIA-ST. MARY- LOWER ST. MARTIN-TYLER-JASPER-NEWTON-HARDIN-JEFFERSON-ORANGE- 446 AM CDT TUE JUL 15 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF THE NORTHWEST GULF OF MEXICO...CENTRAL LOUISIANA...SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA... SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA...WEST CENTRAL LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A WEAK SURFACE BOUNDARY...AND DECENT MOISTURE WILL COMBINE FOR A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE STORMS. OTHERWISE...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY DRIER AIR WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION ON WEDNESDAY WITH LITTLE CHANCE OF RAIN THROUGH FRIDAY. RAIN CHANCES WILL ENTER THE FORECAST AGAIN OVER THE WEEKEND. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. RUA
The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 22 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:14 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Several streets in Sulphur, Westlake, and Lake Charles had several feet of water covering them. This resulted in many stalled cars.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Louisiana in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Louisiana, July 2008
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 129253.