Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms developed during the afternoon and evening hours of May 19th. These storms developed in a moderately unstable airmass and formed along a northward moving sea breeze boundary.
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.
Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms developed during the afternoon and evening hours of May 19th. These storms developed in a moderately unstable airmass and formed along a northward moving sea breeze boundary. These storms produced large hail and some wind damage as well.
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 19, 2:45 PM CST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA 345 PM CDT TUE MAY 19 2015 .DISCUSSION... OUR TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE LOW 80S NORTH TO MID 80S ELSEWHERE. THE NORTHEAST WINDS ARE RUNNING OUT OF GAS. AS EXPECTED AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORM INITIATION HAS OCCURRED OVER OUR TEXAS COUNTIES LIFTING NORTHEAST WARD WITH MEAGER COVERAGE SO FAR. THE WINDS THERE ARE MOIST FROM THE SOUTHEAST. FOR NOW...THE MORE STABLE AIR REMAINS OVER OUR EAST AND MAYBE FOR A WHILE YET. FARTHER WEST...THUNDERSTORMS ARE STRONGER AND TO SOME EXTENT A BIT MORE NUMEROUS. THE WATER VAPOR SHOWS THE REASON IS A GOOD PUSH OUT OF THE ROCKIES OUT INTO THE PLAINS WITH A LARGE UPPER LOW. THE TAIL END OF THIS FEATURE WILL CONTINUE IT/S EVOLUTION BEYOND SUNDOWN WITH THE EXPECTATION OF THE UPPER DIVERGENCE ALOFT AHEAD OF THE LOW WORKING EAST OUT INTO THE MID SOUTH OVERNIGHT. SO AFTER A BRIEF BREAK FROM THE ACTION WE HAVE THE WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY NOW ALONG THE AR/LA STATE LINE OR SO WITH A CONTINUED LIFT BACK TO THE NORTH OVERNIGHT. THE HRRR SHOWS A GOOD PUSH OF QPF INTO OUR NW CORNER AFTER MIDNIGHT WITH MUCH OF THE DIURNAL COVERAGE GONE HOURS EARLIER IN THE MID EVENING. THE NAM IS SIMILAR...BUT MUCH SLOWER. THE RAIN THAT ACTUALLY FALLS IN THIS AREA IS CRUCIAL TO RIVER FORECAST WHICH IS QPF DRIVEN. SO CLOSE ATTENTION TO CONDITIONS IS MORE THAN WARRANTED WITH ALREADY PRETTY HIGH WATER AND SOIL SATURATION AS YET ANOTHER FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL SETTLE INTO THE I-20 CORRIDOR LATE TOMORROW AND INTO EARLY THURSDAY. THE WEATHER PATTERN WILL NOT CHANGE GREATLY AS WE SEE ANOTHER DEEP TROUGH MOVING INTO THE ROCKIES OVER THE WEEKEND AND OUT INTO THE PLAINS EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... SHV 69 86 70 79 / 20 30 50 40 MLU 69 88 69 79 / 20 30 50 40 DEQ 68 82 62 74 / 60 50 50 30 TXK 68 83 67 75 / 50 40 50 40 ELD 67 83 65 75 / 20 30 50 40 TYR 70 84 66 78 / 30 30 50 40 GGG 69 85 68 79 / 30 30 50 40 LFK 71 86 71 83 / 20 20 30 40 && .SHV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. LA...NONE. OK...NONE. TX...NONE. && 24
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA 1159 AM CDT TUE MAY 19 2015 ARZ050-051-059>061-070>073-LAZ001>006-010>014-017>022-OKZ077- TXZ096-097-108>112-124>126-136>138-149>153-165>167-201700- SEVIER-HOWARD-LITTLE RIVER-HEMPSTEAD-NEVADA-MILLER-LAFAYETTE- COLUMBIA-UNION-CADDO-BOSSIER-WEBSTER-CLAIBORNE-LINCOLN-DE SOTO- RED RIVER-BIENVILLE-JACKSON-OUACHITA-SABINE-NATCHITOCHES-WINN- GRANT-CALDWELL-LA SALLE-MCCURTAIN-BOWIE-FRANKLIN-TITUS-CAMP- MORRIS-CASS-WOOD-UPSHUR-MARION-SMITH-GREGG-HARRISON-CHEROKEE-RUSK- PANOLA-NACOGDOCHES-SHELBY-ANGELINA-SAN AUGUSTINE- 1159 AM CDT TUE MAY 19 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS...FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST LOUISIANA...FOR DEEP EAST AND NORTHEAST TEXAS AND FOR SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TODAY AS AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY MOVES EASTWARD OUT OF TEXAS...ENHANCED BY DAYTIME HEATING AND A VERY MOIST ATMOSPHERE. BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL AND LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE STRONGER STORMS. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA FROM THE NORTHWEST TONIGHT WITH AN APPROACHING UPPER DISTURBANCE...LIKEWISE BRINGING A THREAT FOR STRONG GUSTY WIND AND HEAVY RAINFALL. WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY... THE CHANCE OF MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE EACH DAY TO VARYING DEGREES OF COVERAGE. HOWEVER...NO WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL...AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS AND STORM SPOTTERS IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT. 24
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
346 PM CDT TUE MAY 19 2015
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0733 AM FLASH FLOOD RUSTON 32.53N 92.64W
05/18/2015 LINCOLN LA EMERGENCY MNGR
*** 1 FATAL, 2 INJ *** A CHILD PERISHED WHEN A CAR
CARRYING AN ADULT AND 2 CHILDREN WAS SWEPT OFF LITTLE
RIVER RD IN RUSTON. THE 2 SURVIVORS WERE TAKEN TO THE
HOSPITAL FOR UNKNOWN INJURIES.
&&
CORRECTED EVENT TIME
EVENT NUMBER SHV1500492
13The Shreveport radar (KSHV), 152 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:29 UTC.
2 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was downed on Porter Road just west of Lufkin, Texas.
One inch hail was reported at the intersection of Stallings Drive and Hwy. 50 just south of town.
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: 567183, 567184, 567185.