A tropical air mass with scattered thunderstorms remained over South Louisiana. A couple of funnel clouds were reported with these storms.
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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.
A tropical air mass with scattered thunderstorms remained over South Louisiana. A couple of funnel clouds were reported with these storms.
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 5, 6:37 AM CST, 1 hour 43 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 737 AM CDT THU JUL 5 2012 .DISCUSSION... HAVE ADDED 20 PERCENT POPS FOR TODAY AREA-WIDE DUE TO RADAR AND SATELLITE TRENDS. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 639 AM CDT THU JUL 5 2012/ DISCUSSION... FOR THE 05/12Z TAF ISSUANCE. AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED AGAIN THIS MORNING. WILL CARRY VCTS LFT AND ARA AREAS THIS AFTERNOON BEGINNING AT 21Z AS DAYTIME HEATING AND SEA BREEZE INTERACTION REPEAT AGAIN. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 408 AM CDT THU JUL 5 2012/ DISCUSSION... QUIET WEATHER THIS MORNING WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE 70S OVER LAND AND 80S OVER COASTAL WATERS. PATCHY FOG JUST STARTING TO DEVELOP IN PLACES....BUT WILL DISSIPATE WITH SUNRISE. TODAY SHOULD BE A REPEAT OF THE PAST FEW DAYS...WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE LOW TO MID 90S AND ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN ACADIANA LATER THIS AFTERNOON. HOWEVER THIS TREND CHANGES BY TOMORROW...WITH INCREASING RAIN CHANCES THANKS TO SEVERAL SHORTWAVES ROTATING AROUND A MID-UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE AREA OVER THE CENTRAL US. THIS MORE ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN WITH DAILY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO BE THE DOMINANT WEATHER STORY FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND INTO NEXT WEEK. WHILE THERE IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE A WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK...ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE EACH DAY WHICH COULD PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS AND NUMEROUS LIGHTNING STRIKES. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... KLCH 93 76 92 76 92 / 20 10 50 30 40 KBPT 92 76 92 76 91 / 20 10 30 30 40 KAEX 96 73 92 72 93 / 20 10 60 20 40 KLFT 94 75 91 75 92 / 20 10 60 30 40 && .LCH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... LA...NONE. TX...NONE. GM...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 532 AM CDT THU JUL 5 2012 LAZ027>033-041>045-052>055-073-074-TXZ180-201-215-216-259>262- 061100- 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- 532 AM CDT THU JUL 5 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 ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE. LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS ARE THE PRIMARY THREAT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE IN COVERAGE FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND INTO NEXT WEEK. LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS ARE THE PRIMARY THREAT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED. GMZ430-432-435-450-452-455-470-472-475-061100- 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- 532 AM CDT THU JUL 5 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF THE NORTHWEST GULF OF MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE. LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS ARE THE PRIMARY THREAT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE IN COVERAGE THROUGH THE WEEKEND INTO NEXT WEEK. LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS ARE THE PRIMARY THREAT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED.
The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 46 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:18 UTC.
2 funnel cloud, 1 heavy rain, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A Cameron Parish sheriff’s deputy spotted a funnel cloud just west of Grand Chenier. The funnel cloud was under a rapidly developing cumulus developed from the sea breeze colliding with an outflow boundary.
Lafayette 911 relayed a report of a funnel cloud to the north-northeast of the intersection of Highway 90 and Kaliste Saloom Road. Radar showed developing shower between Lafayette and Breaux Bridge.
Heavy rain fell from around Berwick to Patterson causing street flooding. No roads were closed. Near 3 inches of rainfall was reported to have fallen in an hour and a half. The water receded around 45 minutes after the rain stopped.
Lightning struck an apartment complex causing a fire and wires to melt in the Berwick area Saturday afternoon. Isolated power outages were also reported due to the strikes.
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, July 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: 402624, 402625, 402674, 402675.