Web Portal Changes: The Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) hosted at https://water.weather.gov will be replaced by the National Water Prediction Service (NWPS), with a target of March 2024. Existing AHPS content and features will be preserved and expanded within NWPS.

Experimental National Water Center Products: Flood Inundation Mapping services are now available for 10% of the U.S. population. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/owp/operations for more information. The National Hydrologic Discussion, Area Hydrologic Discussion, Flood Hazard Outlook, and real-time geospatial services depicting River Forecast Center and National Water Model forecasts, continue to be accessible via the URL above, as described in the StoryMap here.

Weather Forecast Office Lake Charles, LA

Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center

Hydrograph

River at a Glance

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Probability Information Weekly Chance of Exceeding Levels Chance of Exceeding Levels During Entire Period Short-term Probabilistic Guidance (Experimental)

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Printable Image About this graph Tabular Data (UTC) Tabular Data (CDT) Datum: NGVD29 Metadata

NOTE: River forecasts for this location take into account past precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 48 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time. NOTE: Forecasts for the Atchafalaya River at Melville are issued routinely year-round.

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Upstream Gauge

Downstream Gauge

Flood Categories (in feet) Major Flood Stage: 50 Moderate Flood Stage: 45 Flood Stage: 34 Action Stage: 33 Low Stage (in feet): 0 Historic Crests (1) 46.98 ft on 05/14/1927 (2) 46.08 ft on 05/14/1922 (3) 45.88 ft on 04/25/1945 (4) 45.00 ft on 03/05/1950 (5) 44.98 ft on 03/02/1937 Show More Historic Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Recent Crests (1) 24.61 ft on 03/24/2022 (2) 27.39 ft on 04/16/2021 (3) 31.07 ft on 04/13/2020 (4) 32.90 ft on 03/15/2019 (5) 32.88 ft on 03/19/2018 Show More Recent Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Low Water Records (1) 0.80 ft on 01/19/1981 (2) 0.88 ft on 06/23/1964 (3) 0.90 ft on 10/18/1976 Show More Low Water Records

Zoom Level:16 Legend FEMA Layer Gauge Location Disclaimer Latitude/Longitude Disclaimer: The gauge location shown in the above map is the approximate location based on the latitude/longitude coordinates provided to the NWS by the gauge owner.

Flood Impacts & Photos

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52.5	The water level will be near the top of the levee which is 53 feet at its lowest point.
50	Water will reach the base of the Texas Pacific railroad bridge girders.
48	The water level will reach the grade level of the lowest elevation on the back side of the Melville ring levee.
45	Considerable flooding occurs.
41	Flooding will begin on the river side of the river levee and on the river side of the Melville protection ring levee. Increased river current will make navigation more difficult and increase the need for strict traffic regulation.
36	Flooding of structures on the unprotected side of the levee begins along Trestle Street and River Bank Road in Melville.
34	Lowest structures on the unprotected side of the levee begin to flood. Flooding is more extensive just south of melville.
33	Action stage.
30	Increased current in the atchafalaya main channel will cause minor navigation problems for large craft, but hazardous conditions for smaller river craft. The average elevation within the protection of the melville ring levee is 31 feet.
25	Flooding will begin on the river side of the atchafalaya river levee and the melville ring levee which protect the city to a river stage of about 50 feet.

About This Location

Latitude: 30.690556° N, Longitude: 91.736111° W, Horizontal Datum: NAD83/WGS84 River Stage Reference Frame Gauge Height Flood Stage Uses NWS stage 0 ft 34 ft Interpreting hydrographs and NWS watch, warnings, and forecasts, and inundation maps Vertical Datum Elevation (gauge height = 0) Elevation (gauge height = flood stage) Elevation information source NAVD88 -0.22 ft 33.78 ft Survey grade GPS equipment, FEMA flood plain maps, newer USGS topographic maps NGVD 29 0 ft 34 ft Older USGS topographic maps, NGVD29 benchmarks MSL Not Available Not Available Older USGS topographic maps, MSL benchmarks Other Not Available Not Available   Current/Historical Observations: Corps of Engineers (COE) Info for Melville

Resources

Hydrologic Resources Text Products Past Precipitation Forecast Precipitation River Forecast Centers River Stage Summary Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center West Gulf River Forecast Center USGS Water Science USACE Hydrologic Information Jefferson County Drainage District 6 Daily Hydrologic Summary Agriculture Weather Report Daily Precipitation Reports COCORAHS Reports Interactive Map of Rainfall Reports Inundation Mapping Locations

Additional Resources Area Hydrographs NWS Precipitation and River Forecasting AHPS Iframes for Developers Mobile iNWS for emergency management Sabine River Authority of Texas Sabine River Authority of Louisiana Calcasieu Parish Police Jury Alert System Red River Water Way Commision Bayou Vermilion District NOAA National Ocean Service CO-OPS

Collaborative Agencies The National Weather Service prepares its forecasts and other services in collaboration with agencies like the US Geological Survey, US Bureau of Reclamation, US Army Corps of Engineers, Natural Resource Conservation Service, National Park Service, ALERT Users Group, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and many state and local emergency managers across the country. For details, please click here. NWS Information National Weather Service Lake Charles Weather Forecast Office 500 Airport Boulevard Lake Charles, LA 70607 (337) 477-5285 Ask Questions/Webmaster Page last modified: 2-Nov-2020 7:29 PM Disclaimer Credits Glossary Privacy Policy About Us Career Opportunities