Scattered showers and thunderstorms developing across southern Louisiana spawned several funnel clouds and one brief tornado over a 3 day period.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms developing across southern Louisiana spawned several funnel clouds and one brief tornado over a 3 day period.
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 May 14, 5:56 AM CST, 2 hours 54 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 656 AM CDT THU MAY 14 2009 .AVIATION... 12Z TAF DISCUSSION...MCS ACROSS NE TX AND NW LA CONTINUES WEAKENING AS IT PROGRESSES SOUTHEASTWARD TOWARDS THE NORTHERN CWA. ALL MODEL GUIDANCE INDICATES MCS WILL COMPLETELY FALL APART BEFORE IT REACHES KAEX BUT CANNOT RULE OUT A FEW SHOWERS AROUND THE AIRPORT LATER THIS MORNING. OTHERWISE...BRIEF MVFR FOG AT AREA AIRPORTS THIS MORNING WILL QUICKLY DISSIPATE BY 13Z WITH VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED REST OF TODAY. SHAMBURGER && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 345 AM CDT THU MAY 14 2009/ DISCUSSION...MAIN FORECAST PROBLEM WILL BE DETERMINING TIMING AND IMPACT OF FRONTAL BOUNDARY ON SUNDAY. FOR TODAY...AREA 00Z SOUNDINGS AND MODEL SOUNDINGS CONTINUE TO INDICATE SUFFICIENT CIN ACROSS THE AREA. WILL THEREFORE KEEP POPS BELOW 20 PERCENT FOR TODAY. MID LEVEL TEMPS ARE PROGGED TO GET PROGRESSIVELY LOWER ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY SO COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE LARGER EACH DAY...ESPECIALLY OVER NORTHERN AND EASTERN AREAS. WILL CONTINUE WITH CHANCE POPS SUNDAY AS FRONT SHOULD MOVE THROUGH THE REGION. FOR NOW...THINK THAT AIR BEHIND THE FRONT WILL NOT BE QUITE AS COOL AS ADVERTISED. AIRMASS SHOULD MODIFY QUITE RAPIDLY SO KEPT TEMPERATURES A LITTLE WARMER THAN GUIDANCE FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK. MARINE...HAD SOME REPORTS OF WIND GUSTS NEAR 20 KNOTS ALONG THE TEXAS COAST THIS MORNING. NAM AND GFS SHOW PRESSURE GRADIENT SHIFTING TO THE WEST LATER TODAY SO WILL KEEP WINDS IN THE 10 TO 15 KNOT RANGE ALONG THE NEARSHORE WATERS. WILL HAVE SCEC OFFSHORE FROM CAMERON TO HIGH ISLAND. THERMAL GRADIENT SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT TO GENERATE WINDS AT SCA THRESHOLDS BEHIND THE FRONT FOR SUNDAY. WINDS ARE FORECASTED TO DIMINISH ON MONDAY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... KLCH 89 71 86 68 85 / 10 0 20 10 30 KBPT 90 72 86 69 85 / 10 0 20 10 30 KAEX 92 68 87 68 87 / 10 0 30 10 50 KLFT 88 69 87 67 86 / 10 0 20 10 50 && .LCH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... LA...NONE. TX...NONE. GM...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 421 AM CDT THU MAY 14 2009 GMZ430-432-435-450-452-455-470-472-475-LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055- TXZ180>182-201-215-216-150930- SABINE LAKE-CALCASIEU LAKE-VERMILION BAY- 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- 421 AM CDT THU MAY 14 2009 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 NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE BEGINNING FRIDAY AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. AT THIS TIME...NO WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED. HOWEVER...TORRENTIAL RAIN...GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND HAIL WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH A FEW STORMS. A COOL FRONT IS FORECASTED TO MOVE THROUGH THE AREA ON SUNDAY. NO SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS ARE ANTICIPATED EARLY NEXT WEEK AS DRIER AIR WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE REGION BEHIND THE FRONT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 19 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:51 UTC.
5 funnel cloud, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
A funnel cloud was spotted by a retired NWS employee at the intersection of Thompson Road and W. Dave Dugas Road.
The public reported a funnel cloud briefly touched down at the Firestone Polymers plant on Highway 108 east of Carlyss. An observer at the plant saw the funnel cloud touch down in front of him and blown small debris around before lifting. Radar only showed a small shower at the time.
Iberia Parish Sheriff Office relayed a report from the public of a funnel cloud near the intersection of Darnall Road and Highway 90.
Air Logistics helicopter pilot and local law enforcement reported a funnel cloud over the southeast portion of Morgan City.
Lake Charles Regional Airport air traffic control tower relayed report from pilot who witnesses a funnel cloud 16 miles southwest of the airport.
Lake Charles Regional Airport air traffic control tower relayed report from pilot of Cherokee Aircraft of a funnel cloud near the KPLC-TV transmitter.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Louisiana in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Louisiana, 2009Warnings in Louisiana, May 2009
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: 173907, 173908, 173909, 174193, 174194, 174195.