Lightning strikes a Lake Charles park damaging brick work and starts a wildfire in a refuge. A couple of funnel clouds are also reported.
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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.
Lightning strikes a Lake Charles park damaging brick work and starts a wildfire in a refuge. A couple of funnel clouds are also reported.
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 Aug 7, 11:40 AM CST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 1240 PM CDT TUE AUG 7 2012 .AVIATION...ATMOSPHERE HAS BEEN WORKED OVER SO WILL DELAY FORMATION OF VCTS AROUND THE TERMINALS A COUPLE OF HOURS FOR ALL EXCEPT AEX WHERE MID CLOUDS ARE JUST NOW RAINING OUT TO VIRGA. WILL GO LATE AFTERNOON FOR AEX VCTS. MVFR IN SHALLOW GROUND FOG LATE TNITE FOR BPT WHERE BOUNDARY NVA AND ONSHORE FLOW COULD BRING PATCHES OF TEMPO IFR FOG. OTHER TERMINALS WITH LATE NITE MVFR FOG LOOKS TO BE ARA WHERE GUIDANCE AND PERSISTENCE IS FOLLOWED, AEX WHERE WET GROUNDS SHOULD ASSIST. SWEENEY && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 1008 AM CDT TUE AUG 7 2012/ UPDATE...A CONVECTIVE COMPLEX IS NEARLY STATIONARY OVER CENLA WHERE RADAR ESTIMATES SHOW UP TO 8 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN SINCE AROUND 4 AM WHEN THE CLUSTER FIRST DEVELOPED IN RESPONSE TO A SHORT WAVE. IR IMAGERY SHOWING CLOUD TOPS WARMING EXCEPT TO THE NORTH WHERE NEW DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES. THE 60 POP AT AEX LOOKS GOOD FOR A FEW MORE HOURS. WILL GO AHEAD WITH POPS 40 PERCENT THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE BOARD AS OUTFLOWS WILL EMANATE OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA. ALTHOUGH THE CENLA AREA WILL HAVE BEEN WORKED OVER AND WOULD NORMALLY SEE A LACK OF CONVECTION THERE THIS AFTERNOON...THERE IS A FAVORABLE RIGHT REAR QUAD OR ENTRANCE REGION OF THE SUBTROPICAL JET SO WILL GO WITH A 40 POP THERE AS WELL. LOWERED TEMPS ACROSS THE I-10 ZONES WITH ADDITIONAL CLOUD COVER AND MEAN RH UP TO THE MID LEVELS OVER 70 PERCENT PER LATEST NAM. SWEENEY PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 538 AM CDT TUE AUG 7 2012/ DISCUSSION... TEMPERATURES AROUND THE REGION ARE RUNNING IN THE MID TO UPPER 70S THIS MORNING. NWS RADAR IS INDICATING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER RAPIDES AND AVOYELLES PARISHES WITH STORMS SPREADING INTO VERNON AND BEAUREGARD PARISHES. STORMS WERE ALSO NOTED OVER VERMILION BAY. THOSE STORMS ARE DRIFTING TO THE SOUTHWEST THIS MORNING. THE ATMOSPHERE REMAINS UNSTABLE WITH PRECIP WATER ABOVE 2.10 INCHES AND WITH ANOTHER SHORTWAVE APPROACHING FROM THE NORTH THIS LOOKS TO BRING IN SHOWERS IN A BIT EARLIER TODAY THAN YESTERDAY. AS A RESULT AFTN TEMPS WILL BE A BIT COOLER. STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO END BY THE LATE AFTERNOON HOURS WITH SKIES CLEARING DURING THE EVENING HOURS. OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL BE SIMILAR TO TONIGHT'S LOWS... WITH LOCATIONS ALONG THE COAST NEAR 80 AND INLAND LOCATIONS DROPPING INTO THE MID 70S. DRY AIR FROM THE NORTH WILL MOVE DOWN INTO THE REGION TOMORROW AND THIS WILL REDUCE THE CHANCES FOR SHOWERS. BUT ALAS ANOTHER SHORTWAVE IS EXPECTED TO MOVE DOWN THE FRONT SIDE OF THE RIDGE LATE WEDNESDAY AND INTO OUR REGION ON THURSDAY. THIS WILL AGAIN RAISE THE PRECIP CHANCES ACROSS SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND SOUTHERN LOUISIANA. THE RIDGE TO THE WEST LOOKS TO DRIFT A BIT FURTHER BACK TO THE WEST AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROF DEVELOPS OVER THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE COUNTY THIS TROF IS EXPECTED TO DRIVE THE FIRST COOL FRONT DOWN INTO THE REGION OVER THE WEEKEND. IN THE TROPIC'S... ERNESTO IS LOCATED SOUTHWEST OF CUBA AND CONTINUES TO MOVE WNW AND WILL STRENGTHEN INTO A HURRICANE BEFORE MAKING LANDFALL IN THE YUCATAN PENINSULA. MAX WINDS THIS AM ARE AROUND 65 MPH THIS MORNING. 19 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... KLCH 91 75 93 74 92 / 40 10 20 10 30 KBPT 92 75 92 75 91 / 40 10 20 10 30 KAEX 95 74 96 74 95 / 60 10 20 10 30 KLFT 93 75 92 75 91 / 40 10 20 10 30 && .LCH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... LA...NONE. TX...NONE. GM...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 421 AM CDT TUE AUG 7 2012 LAZ027>033-041>045-052>055-073-074-TXZ180-201-215-216-259>262- 080930- VERNON-RAPIDES-AVOYELLES-BEAUREGARD-ALLEN-EVANGELINE-ST. LANDRY- CALCASIEU-JEFFERSON DAVIS-ACADIA-LAFAYETTE-UPPER ST. MARTIN- VERMILION-IBERIA-ST. MARY-LOWER ST. MARTIN-WEST CAMERON- EAST CAMERON-TYLER-HARDIN-JEFFERSON-ORANGE-NORTHERN JASPER- NORTHERN NEWTON-SOUTHERN JASPER-SOUTHERN NEWTON- 421 AM CDT TUE AUG 7 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL LOUISIANA...SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA...SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA...WEST CENTRAL LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT ANOTHER DAY WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ON TAP. STORMS TODAY WILL PRODUCE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS. STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO END DURING THE EVENING HOURS. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE CHANCE FOR SOME SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEK. A WEAK COOL FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE TO THE COAST LATE IN THE WEEK. THIS WILL ONLY DROP TEMPERATURES A DEGREE OR TWO FROM NORMAL HIGH TEMPERATURES. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. GMZ430-432-435-450-452-455-470-472-475-080930- 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 FROM 20 TO 60 NM- WATERS FROM INTRACOASTAL CITY TO CAMERON LA FROM 20 TO 60 NM- WATERS FROM LOWER ATCHAFALAYA RIVER TO INTRACOASTAL CITY LA FROM 20 TO 60 NM- 421 AM CDT TUE AUG 7 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF THE NORTHWEST GULF OF MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT ISOLATED/ SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY ISOLATED/SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE PERIOD. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 12 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:01 UTC.
2 lightning, 2 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck Veterans Memorial Park in Lake Charles blasting apart brick work near a flag pole.
A public report was received of a large funnel cloud east of Sweet Lake. The funnel was visible for about five minutes before dissipating.
Lightning started a fire in north central sections of the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge. The fire burned over 2,300 acres and burned through the end of the week before going out.
NWS employees observed a funnel cloud 4 miles south of the Lake Charles Regional Airport. The funnel was visible for about 5 minutes before dissipating.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Louisiana in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Louisiana, August 2012
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: 408444, 408471, 408447, 408472.