Scattered thunderstorms move into the Lake Charles area creating heavy rain that lead to street closures.
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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.
Scattered thunderstorms move into the Lake Charles area creating heavy rain that lead to street closures.
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 20, 8:34 AM CST, 2 hours 14 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 934 AM CDT TUE AUG 20 2013 .UPDATE... ISOLATED TO WIDELY SCT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ALREADY DEVELOPING ALONG THE SWLA/SETX COAST. THIS ACTIVITY IS MOVING NORTH WITH EVEN A FEW SHOWERS OCCURRING NR THE KLCH AIRPORT. MORNING WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS DEEPER MOISTURE HAS LIFTED NORTH OVER THE REGION...NARROWING THE ZONE OF DRIER AIR OVER TX. KLCH 12Z SOUNDING ALSO SHOWS PW JUST OVER 2 INCHES...NEARLY AN INCH HIGHER THAN 24 HOURS AGO. LOOKS LIKE ADEQUATE MOISTURE FOR AT LEAST SOME SCT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY MAINLY ACRS THE SRN ZONES SO WENT AHEAD AND ADJUSTED POPS FOR TODAY BASED ON BOTH RADAR TRENDS AND HI-RES MODEL GUIDANCE. AS FOR TEMPS...TWEAKED MAX VALUES UPWARD ACRS SE TX BUT OTHERWISE HIGH TEMPS LOOK GOOD. 24 && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 641 AM CDT TUE AUG 20 2013/ AVIATION...A WEAKNESS IN THE RIDGE WILL ALLOW MOISTURE POOLING OUT TO THE EAST TO ADVECT WESTWARD INTO THE AREA. RADAR ALREADY SHOWING SHOWER ACTIVITY MOVING INTO THE BPT AREA. WILL ALSO GO WITH VCSH INTO LCH, LFT AND ARA...VCTS THIS AFTERNOON. SOME PATCHY LIFR FOG SHOULD BEGIN TO LIFT SHORTLY AT AEX. SWEENEY && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... KLCH 92 73 92 74 / 20 10 20 10 KBPT 93 74 92 75 / 30 10 20 10 KAEX 93 72 94 73 / 10 10 20 10 KLFT 91 74 91 75 / 30 10 30 10 && .LCH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... LA...NONE. TX...NONE. GM...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 1039 AM CDT TUE AUG 20 2013 GMZ430-432-435-450-452-455-470-472-475-LAZ027>033-041>045-052>055- 073-074-TXZ180-201-215-216-259>262-211545- 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-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- 1039 AM CDT TUE AUG 20 2013 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 WIDELY SCATTERED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED. THIS ACTIVITY WILL BE CONFINED TO MAINLY LAND AREAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF A KOUNTZE TO MARKSVILLE LINE TODAY...THEN SHIFTING TO THE COASTAL WATERS OVERNIGHT. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED. HOWEVER...A FEW STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...BRIEF GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY RAINFALL. IN ADDITION...CONDITIONS ARE CONDUCIVE FOR POSSIBLE TROPICAL FUNNEL CLOUDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE EACH AND EVERY DAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME...BUT SOME STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND VERY HEAVY RAINFALL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. 24
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 913 AM CDT TUE AUG 20 2013 LAZ041>045-052>055-073-074-TXZ215-216-201700- CALCASIEU-JEFFERSON DAVIS-ACADIA-LAFAYETTE-UPPER ST. MARTIN- VERMILION-IBERIA-ST. MARY-LOWER ST. MARTIN-WEST CAMERON- EAST CAMERON-JEFFERSON-ORANGE- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...LAKE CHARLES...SULPHUR...JENNINGS... WELSH...LAKE ARTHUR...CROWLEY...RAYNE...CHURCH POINT... LAFAYETTE...BREAUX BRIDGE...ST. MARTINVILLE...ABBEVILLE... KAPLAN...NEW IBERIA...MORGAN CITY...FRANKLIN...PATTERSON... BERWICK...BAYOU VISTA...STEPHENSVILLE...HACKBERRY...HOLLY BEACH... CAMERON...GRAND CHENIER...BEAUMONT...PORT ARTHUR...ORANGE... VIDOR...BRIDGE CITY 913 AM CDT TUE AUG 20 2013 ...TROPICAL FUNNEL CLOUDS POSSIBLE... A VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE TROPICAL AIRMASS IS MOVING INTO THE COASTAL AREA. MEANWHILE...THE VERTICAL WIND PROFILE OVER THE AREA IS BECOMING LIGHT AND VARIABLE. THESE CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TROPICAL FUNNEL CLOUDS... ESPECIALLY WHERE RAIN COOLED BOUNDARIES...KNOWN AS OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES...AND THE SEABREEZE COLLIDE. THESE TROPICAL FUNNEL CLOUDS ARE USUALLY SHORT-LIVED AND RARELY REACH THE GROUND. IF THE FUNNEL CLOUD BECOMES MORE SEVERE AND DOES REACH THE GROUND...MINOR DAMAGE MAY OCCUR. STAY TUNED FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND UPDATES ON THIS WEATHER SITUATION. K. KUYPER
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Scattered thunderstorms moved into Lake Charles with very heavy rainfall. The heavy rain flooded some streets and roadways with a few becoming impassable. One such road was Louisiana AVE at Interstate 210. The highest rainfall rates were estimated by radar to be 2 to 3 inches per hour and rain fell for an hour or two.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Louisiana in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Louisiana, August 2013
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: 462087.