Extreme to exceptional drought conditions contributed to a wildfire in northern Calcasieu Parish.
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.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions contributed to a wildfire in northern Calcasieu Parish.
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 Jun 12, 10:20 AM CST, 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 1120 AM CDT SUN JUN 12 2011 .DISCUSSION... UPDATED MOST FIRST PERIOD GRIDS TO ADJUST FOR LATEST GUIDANCE/TRENDS...BUT NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE MADE. ANOTHER HOT AND MOSTLY DRY DAY ON TAP WITH JUST ISOLATED CONVECTION EXPECTED BY AFTERNOON...MAINLY OVER EAST/SOUTH CENTRAL LA. 13 && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 651 AM CDT SUN JUN 12 2011/ AVIATION... LIGHT FOG LIFTING BECOMING VFR ARE LCTNS THRU THE DAY. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 334 AM CDT SUN JUN 12 2011/ DISCUSSION... LATEST SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS VERY WEAK PRESSURE GRADIENT ASSOCIATED WITH A SFC HIGH OVER THE N GULF AND SE U.S. ALOFT...THE MID/UPPER RIDGE HAS BEGUN TO RETROGRADE FROM TX OVER THE REGION...WHICH WILL BE PUTTING THE LID ON MOST AFTERNOON SHRA/TSRA DEVELOPMENT. NOT REALLY SHOWN IN ANY GUIDANCE...BUT LEFT ~15% OR ISO AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING TSRA OVER C AND S LA...WHICH HAS BEEN THE CASE THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS. WITH THE SUBSIDENCE ASSOCIATED WITH THE RIDGING ALOFT...TEMPS WILL CONTINUE TO REMAIN ABOVE NORMAL...WITH MID/UPPER 90S EXPECTED. THE ONLY THING STOPPING IT FROM GETTING INTO THE 100S WILL BE THE WEAK S FLOW EXPECTED BETWEEN THE NE GULF RIDGE AND THE LOW OVER THE PLAINS. FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK...NOT EXPECTING MUCH IF ANY RAINFALL. WEAK SFC RIDGE OVER THE NE GULF COUPLED WITH LOW PRESSURE OVER THE PLAINS WILL MAINTAIN AN ONSHORE FLOW...WITH HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT RIDGING ACROSS MOST OF TX. OTHER THAN THE SEA BREEZE...THERE WILL BE NO REAL FOCUS FOR AFTERNOON TSRA. WILL HAVE TO DEPEND ON THE FEW TCU THAT HAPPENS TO BREAK THE CAP TO PROVIDE ANY PRECIP...BUT AT BEST ONLY 10% COVERAGE POSSIBLE. THE ONSHORE FLOW SHOULD KEEP AFTERNOON TEMPS GETTING OUT OF CONTROL...BUT STILL LOWER/MID 90S ACROSS THE I-10 CORRIDOR...TO MID/UPPER 90S FURTHER INLAND. MARINE... HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING WEST ACROSS THE GULF WATERS WILL MAINTAIN A LIGHT ONSHORE FLOW LESS THAN 10 KNOTS AND SEAS 1-2 FT THRU TUE. BY WED & THU...THE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL INCREASE A BIT BETWEEN THE HIGH OVER THE E GULF AND THE LOW OVER THE TX/OK REGION. THIS WILL INCREASE S TO SW WINDS 10 TO 15 KTS AND SEAS 2-4 FT. FIRE WEATHER... ISOLATED SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LOUISIANA. AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL DROP INTO THE 30% RANGE WITH LIGHT SOUTHERLY WINDS. THIS COUPLED WITH THE ONGOING SEVERE DROUGHT WILL KEEP THE FIRE DANGER ELEVATED. HIGH PRESSURE WILL THEN BECOME REESTABLISHED SENDING US BACK INTO AN EXTENDED DRY PERIOD WITH TEMPERATURES REMAINING WELL ABOVE NORMAL. BURN BANS REMAIN IN PLACE FOR ALL OF LOUISIANA AND THE SOUTHEASTERN PORTION OF TEXAS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... KLCH 96 74 95 74 / 10 10 10 10 KBPT 96 74 95 74 / 10 10 10 10 KAEX 98 72 97 72 / 20 20 10 10 KLFT 97 74 96 74 / 20 20 10 10 && .LCH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... LA...NONE. TX...NONE. GM...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 345 AM CDT SUN JUN 12 2011 GMZ430-432-435-450-452-455-470-472-475-LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055- TXZ180>182-201-215-216-131100- 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- 345 AM CDT SUN JUN 12 2011 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 ONLY A SLIGHT CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LOUISIANA. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT OVER TEXAS WILL DOMINATE THE REGION. OTHER THAN THE SEA BREEZE FRONT...THERE WILL BE NO REAL FOCUS FOR AFTERNOON SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES IN THE LOWER TO MID 90S ACROSS THE I-10 CORRIDOR...MID TO UPPER 90S FURTHER INLAND CAN BE EXPECTED. ELEVATED FIRE DANGER WILL CONTINUE DUE TO VERY DRY GROUND FUELS AND LOW DAYTIME RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES. BURN BANS ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE AREA. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Almost 700 acres were burned in northern Calcasieu Parish near Bud Bennett Road. It cost over $250,000 in lost timber.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Louisiana in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Louisiana, June 2011
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: 327553.