Scattered thunderstorms developed during the morning and afternoon hours across southwest Louisiana. One storm north of Grand Lake produced lightning which struck a boat on the Intracoastal Waterway, killing one fisherman and injuring another.
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 thunderstorms developed during the morning and afternoon hours across southwest Louisiana. One storm north of Grand Lake produced lightning which struck a boat on the Intracoastal Waterway, killing one fisherman and injuring another.
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 5, 11:31 AM CST, 1 hour 59 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 1231 PM CDT SAT SEP 5 2009 .AVIATION... LATEST SAT IMAGERY SHOWS CU FIELD BUILDING NICELY ACROSS THE REGION ...WITH ISO SHRA/TSRA JUST BEGINNING TO POP UP ON THE RADAR ACROSS SE TX/C AND S LA. CONTINUED INHERITED VCTS BEGINNING NOW AT KBPT/KLCH/KLFT/KARA...AND 20Z FOR KAEX. OTHERWISE...EXPECTING VFR CONDITIONS AT ALL SITES THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. DML && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 1031 AM CDT SAT SEP 5 2009/ UPDATE... STORMS FIRING OVER THE GULF ALONG THE LAND-BREEZE THIS AM. THIS ACTVTY SHOULD TAPER OFF OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BEGIN FIRING OVER LAND AREAS STARTING DURING THE AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING INTO THE EARLY EVE HOURS. CURRENT ZONES LOOK FINE AT THIS TIME. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 626 AM CDT SAT SEP 5 2009/ AVIATION... FOR THE 05/12Z TAF ISSUANCE... SOME PATCHY FOG WILL BRIEFLY BRING MVFR VISIBILITIES TO TAF SITES THROUGH SHORTLY AFTER SUNRISE. OTHERWISE...VERY MOIST AIRMASS IN PLACE ACROSS THE REGION. EXPECT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP WITH DAYTIME HEATING BY AFTERNOON IN BE IN THE VICINITY OF TAF SITES. SHOWER ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET. RUA PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 352 AM CDT SAT SEP 5 2009/ DISCUSSION... COMPLEX WEATHER FORECAST FOR THE NEXT WEEK. IN THE SHORT-TERM...THROUGH MONDAY...A SERIES OF WEAK UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES ARE ROTATING AROUND A BROAD TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN UNITED STATES...PROVIDING THE FOCUS FOR DAILY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN OUR VICINITY. THE BEST CHANCES APPEAR TO BE ACROSS ACADIANA...WITH LOWER CHANCES THE FURTHER WEST YOU GO INTO TEXAS. TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE AROUND 90 EXCEPT FOR AREAS THAT SEE MORE RAIN...WHERE IT MAY ONLY MAKE IT INTO THE UPPER 80S. BY MID-WEEK...THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH EXTENDS FURTHER SOUTH...ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES. STILL...WEAK SHORTWAVES APPEAR TO COME DOWN FROM THE NORTH AND PROVIDE ENOUGH FOCUS FOR SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A WEAK SEABREEZE. AT SOME POINT NEXT WEEKEND...DRY WEATHER IS ON TAP...BUT UNTIL THEN...EXPECT UNSETTLED WEATHER THROUGH MOST OF THE UPCOMING WEEK. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... KLCH 71 89 71 89 72 / 20 50 20 50 20 KBPT 71 89 72 90 72 / 20 50 20 40 20 KAEX 69 88 69 90 68 / 20 50 20 50 20 KLFT 71 87 71 88 70 / 20 60 20 60 20 && .LCH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... LA...NONE. TX...NONE. GM...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 400 AM CDT SAT SEP 5 2009 GMZ430-432-435-450-452-455-470-472-475-LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055- TXZ180>182-201-215-216-060900- 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- 400 AM CDT SAT SEP 5 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 SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP... ESPECIALLY IN THE AFTERNOON. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH WILL OCCUR IN THE STRONGER STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED EACH AFTERNOON... PRODUCING DEADLY LIGHTNING...LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH IN THE STRONGER STORMS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 8 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:27 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Two boaters fishing on Black Bayou at the Intracoastal Waterway were struck by lightning. One man was killed and the other suffered minor injuries.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, Calcasieu | 2009-09-05 | 44 | Male | Boating | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Louisiana in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Louisiana, September 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: 196306.