Excessive heavy rainfall was widespread across Northern Louisiana during the morning hours of May 18th. This convection developed from an upper level disturbance that moved into the region from Central Texas.
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 SHV wrote it up.
Excessive heavy rainfall was widespread across Northern Louisiana during the morning hours of May 18th. This convection developed from an upper level disturbance that moved into the region from Central Texas. Moisture was plentiful across the region as the upper level flow was from the southwest. This allowed the disturbance to tap moisture from not only the Eastern Pacific but also the Gulf of Mexico. These storms trained across the same general area resulting in some impressive rainfall totals. The end result was widespread flooding across much of the region.
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 Shreveport, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 18, 3:04 AM CST, 56 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
404 AM CDT MON MAY 18 2015
.DISCUSSION...
THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER DEEP EAST TEXAS INTO
NORTHWEST LOUISIANA THIS MORNING ALONG A STALLED OUTFLOW BOUNDARY.
EXPECT BRIEF GUSTY WIND AND VERY HEAVY RAIN...BUT STORMS SHOULD
REMAIN BELOW SEVERE LIMITS. MAIN PROBLEM WILL BE FLASH FLOODING...
AS RAINFALL RATES EXPECTED TO REACH 2 INCHES AN HOUR DUE TO HIGH
PWS...COMBINED WITH TRAINING OF STORMS OVER THE STALLED BOUNDARY.
HAVE EXTENDED THE FFA THROUGH 00Z...AND ADDED SOME SOUTHERN ZONES
AS THE BOUNDARY SAGS SOUTH BY THE AFTERNOON. WILL ALSO CANCEL SOME
NORTHERN ZONES DUE TO THE SCATTERED NATURE OF EXPECTED CONVECTION
IN THIS AREA TODAY.
TONIGHT...RAINFALL SHOULD TAPER OFF WITH ONLY SCATTERED ACTIVITY
EXPECTED TUESDAY AS SLIGHT RIDGING DEVELOPS OVER THIS REGION. THEN
BY LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON INTO TUESDAY NIGHT...ANOTHER SHORTWAVE
MOVING INTO THE RED RIVER VALLEY WILL BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS
AND TSTMS.
BY LATE WEEK...ANOTHER LOW WILL FOLLOW THE EARLY WEEK SYSTEM...MOVING
INTO CA BY FRIDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL TRACK NE INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS
BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL RESULT IN CONTINUED SW FLOW ALOFT
OVER THE REGION AND A PACIFIC MOISTURE FETCH THROUGH THE REMAINDER
OF THE SEVEN DAY FORECAST. TEMPERATURES THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD WILL
REMAIN FAIRLY CONSISTENT...WITH LOWS IN THE 60S TO LOWER 70S AND HIGHS
IN THE 80S. MAIN INFLUENCE ON DAILY TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE BE
THE CLOUDS AND RAIN.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
SHV 81 69 85 70 / 80 30 30 30
MLU 81 68 85 70 / 80 30 40 30
DEQ 83 66 81 67 / 40 30 30 30
TXK 82 67 82 67 / 70 30 30 30
ELD 79 67 83 68 / 80 30 30 30
TYR 82 69 83 70 / 60 20 30 20
GGG 81 68 84 69 / 70 20 30 20
LFK 82 70 85 71 / 80 20 40 20
&&
.SHV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AR...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR ARZ072-073.
LA...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR LAZ001>006-010>014-
017>022.
OK...NONE.
TX...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR TXZ136>138-149>153-
165>167.
&&
14HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA 440 AM CDT MON MAY 18 2015 ARZ050-051-059>061-070-071-OKZ077-TXZ096-097-108>112-124>126- 181700- SEVIER-HOWARD-LITTLE RIVER-HEMPSTEAD-NEVADA-MILLER-LAFAYETTE- MCCURTAIN-RED RIVER-BOWIE-FRANKLIN-TITUS-CAMP-MORRIS-CASS-WOOD- UPSHUR-MARION- 440 AM CDT MON MAY 18 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS...SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHEAST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT. SEVERE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH SUNDAY. NO WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. ARZ072-073-LAZ001>006-010>014-017>022-TXZ136>138-149>153-165>167- 181700- COLUMBIA-UNION-CADDO-BOSSIER-WEBSTER-CLAIBORNE-LINCOLN-DE SOTO- RED RIVER-BIENVILLE-JACKSON-OUACHITA-SABINE-NATCHITOCHES-WINN- GRANT-CALDWELL-LA SALLE-SMITH-GREGG-HARRISON-CHEROKEE-RUSK-PANOLA- NACOGDOCHES-SHELBY-ANGELINA-SAN AUGUSTINE- 440 AM CDT MON MAY 18 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARKANSAS...SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS...NORTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA... NORTHWEST LOUISIANA...EAST TEXAS AND NORTHEAST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER THE AREA AND SPREAD NORTHEAST TODAY. HEAVY RAINFALL AND LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGER STORMS. THE MAIN HAZARD WILL BE FLASH FLOODING...WITH ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE TO THREE INCHES POSSIBLE IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH SUNDAY. NO WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS POSSIBLE TODAY...MAINLY DUE TO FLOODING.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
24 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Linwood Road was flooded and closed near Stonewall, Louisiana.
Flooding was reported in streets and homes off of Keithville-Kingston Road and Domino Road.
A car was stalled in high water along Hwy. 171 near the Keithville Middle School.
Colquitt road was flooded and closed in the southwest side of Shreveport and in the Keithville community.
Street flooding was reported throughout much of University Terrace Subdivision in the Southeast side of Shreveport.
The entrance ramp from West 70th street onto Hwy. 3132 west near the National Weather Service in Shreveport was flooded and closed.
Sheriff's Office reported widespread flooding resulting in several closed roads throughout Lincoln Parish.
High water resulted in the closure of Frazier Road on the north side of Ruston, Louisiana.
Flooding was reported on Cory Road near Hwy. 165 north of Columbia, Louisiana.
High water was reported off Williamson Way on one of the side streets in far south Shreveport.
The Sunshine Estates Mobile Home Park was flooded southwest of Monroe, Louisiana.
High and swift water across Little River Road north of Ruston, Louisiana swept a vehicle off the roadway into Colvin Creek. The vehicle was occupied by an adult and 2 children. One of the children drowned while the other child and the adult were injured but survived.
Flooding was reported at the intersection of Hwy. 3033 and Tidwell Road.
Flooding was reported on Fuller Cemetery Road off of Old Arcadia Road.
A culvert was washed out at Brushy Creek Road and 507. Several other parish roads were flooded and closed as well.
Widespread flooding was reported across all of Caldwell Parish.
Water was reported on Hwy. 167 near Winnfield, Hwy. 126 near the Winn and Natchitoches Parish line and on many secondary roads across the parish.
Multiple roads across the parish were flooded and closed.
Highway 487 north of Marthaville was flooded and closed.
Numerous roads were flooded and closed all throughout Natchitoches Parish.
Water was over McCann Road in the Trout community.
Water was covering several secondary roadways in the northern portion of the parish.
Highway 171 north and south of Converse was closed to one lane due to flash flooding.
Some secondary roadways remained closed from excessive heavy rainfall.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, Lincoln | 2015-05-18 | 11 | Male | In Water | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Louisiana in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Louisiana, May 2015
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: 567141, 567142, 567139, 567140, 567143, 567149, 567144, 567145, 567146, 567147, 567148, 567153, 567154, 567155, 567162, 567164, 567168, 567170, 567173, 567175, 567177, 567179, 567178, 567182.