A cold front drifted through the region during afternoon and evening of the 12th. Showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of the boundary causing flooding for portions of Beaumont.
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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 cold front drifted through the region during afternoon and evening of the 12th. Showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of the boundary causing flooding for portions of Beaumont.
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 May 12, 2:59 PM CST, 2 hours 26 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 359 PM CDT TUE MAY 12 2015 .SYNOPSIS... AREA RADAR MOSAIC SHOWING SCT CONVECTION BEGINNING TO FIRE ALONG THE TX COAST EAST ACRS SW LA INTO SE LA. A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY WAS HELPING TO FOCUS THIS ACTIVITY AIDED BY MODEST DESTABILIZATION AND WARMING AS SUNLIGHT FILTERS THROUGH THE THIN MID AND HIGH CLOUDS. EXPECT THIS SCT ACTIVITY TO CONTINUE DEVELOPING THROUGH THE LATTER PART OF THE AFTN. ALOFT...THE AREA REMAINS UNDER A MOIST SWLY FLOW ALOFT BETWEEN A TROF OVER THE W COAST AND A WEAK RIDGE OVER THE SERN STATES. && .DISCUSSION... THROUGH LATE AFTN INTO EARLY EVENING...THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY THAT A FEW STORMS COULD BRIEFLY PULSE TO MINIMAL SVR STRENGTH...WITH DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND MARGINAL HAIL POSSIBLE. STORM COVERAGE AND INTENSITY WILL DIMINISH DURING THE EVENING WITH THE LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING. THE COLD FRONT WILL GRADUALLY MOVE SOUTH OVER THE COASTAL WATERS THIS EVENING...AND STALL OVERNIGHT WITH JUST A FEW SHOWERS LINGERING OVER THE AREA. DESPITE THE FRONT MOVING SOUTH OF THE AREA TONIGHT...LITTLE MORE THAN A WIND SHIFT IS EXPECTED WITH RELATIVELY WARM AND HUMID CONDITIONS CONTINUING. OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL BE IN THE UPPER 60S TO NEAR 70 WITH HIGHS WEDNESDAY INTO THE LOWER 80S. SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL AGAIN INCREASE WITH DAYTIME HEATING WEDNESDAY...WITH THE BEST CHANCES OVER THE NWRN ZONES CLOSER TO SHORTWAVE ENERGY PASSING OVER TX. THE WEAK FRONT WILL BEGIN TO LIFT BACK TO THE NORTH...WITH WARM SOUTHERLIES RETURNING DURING THE AFTN. LITTLE DAY TO DAY CHANGE IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD. A PERSISTENT TROF WILL RESIDE OVER THE WRN CONUS THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK...KEEPING A SWLY FLOW ALOFT OVER THE AREA. A SERIES OF SHORTWAVES WILL TRAVEL ACRS THE SRN PLAIN TOWARD THE GREAT LAKES...INTERACTING WITH THE MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER THE REGION. CARRIED AT LEAST A MINIMUM OF CHC POPS FROM THURSDAY INTO THE WEEKEND WITH INITIATION AND COVERAGE DRIVEN BY OUTFLOW BOUNDARY INTERACTIONS. WARM AND MUGGY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO PERSIST...WITH TEMPERATURES RUNNING NEAR OR SLIGHT ABV NORMAL NORMS. && .MARINE... A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL GRADUALLY SLIDE SOUTH OVER THE COASTAL WATERS THIS EVENING...BECOMING STALLED OVERNIGHT. THIS WILL PRODUCE MOSTLY LT TO OCCASIONALLY MDT ELY WINDS THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY. AN ONSHORE FLOW WILL RESUME DURING THE DAY WEDNESDAY AS HIGH PRES OVER THE PLAINS MIGRATES TOWARD THE EAST AND THE FRONT SLOWLY LIFTS BACK TO THE NORTH OVER THE REGION. A LT TO MDT ONSHORE FLOW WILL THEN PERSIST THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... AEX 66 84 67 83 / 50 30 30 40 LCH 69 83 71 83 / 30 30 20 30 LFT 69 85 70 84 / 40 30 20 30 BPT 71 82 73 83 / 40 30 30 30 && .LCH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... LA...NONE. TX...NONE. GM...NONE. && PUBLIC...24
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 534 AM CDT TUE MAY 12 2015 GMZ430-432-435-450-452-455-470-472-475-LAZ027>033-041>045-052>055- 073-074-TXZ180-201-215-216-259>262-131045- 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- 534 AM CDT TUE MAY 12 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF THE NORTHWEST GULF OF MEXICO...CENTRAL LOUISIANA...SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA... SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA...WEST CENTRAL LOUISIANA...EAST CENTRAL TEXAS AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD MOVE BACK IN FROM THE WEST DURING THE DAY TODAY. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL UP TO AN INCH EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT. SOME THUNDERSTORMS COULD BRIEFLY REACH SEVERE THRHESHOLDS. FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED IN A FEW LOCATIONS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY LITTLE CHANGE IN THE OVERALL PATTERN WITH PERIODS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES TRANSITING THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED DUE TO A MARGINAL RISK FOR SEVERE TSTMS TODAY. SWEENEY
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA 340 PM CDT TUE MAY 12 2015 LAZ052-074-122130- EAST CAMERON-VERMILION- 340 PM CDT TUE MAY 12 2015 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT EASTERN CAMERON PARISH... AT 340 PM CDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS NEAR ROCKEFELLER WILDLIFE RANGE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 5 MPH. PEA SIZE HAIL IS POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... ROCKEFELLER WILDLIFE RANGE. LAT...LON 2965 9282 2985 9292 3003 9273 2971 9256 TIME...MOT...LOC 2040Z 244DEG 4KT 2977 9279 25
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Beaumont media received multiple photos from along the Eastex Freeway, Delaware Street, Lucas Drive, and other Northeast Beaumont roads that were flooded. Several cars were flooded during the event.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, 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: 572737.