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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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. Reliability of the Forecast: Forecast data shown here are guidance values only. Please refer to your local NWS office. NOTE: Forecasts for the Tide Station (LCH) at Lake Charles are issued routinely year-round. Vertical Datum references a tidal datum...for more information see Tides and Currents .

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Upstream Gauge

Downstream Gauge

Flood Categories (in feet) Major Flood Stage: 6 Moderate Flood Stage: 4 Flood Stage: 3 Action Stage: 2.34 Low Stage (in feet): -1 Historic Crests (1) 9.50 ft on 09/13/2008 (2) 8.50 ft on 09/24/2005 (3) 4.93 ft on 08/30/2017 (4) 3.54 ft on 03/21/2012 (5) 3.37 ft on 10/16/2006 Show More Historic Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Recent Crests (1) 4.93 ft on 08/30/2017 (2) 2.79 ft on 11/23/2014 (3) 3.01 ft on 09/21/2013 (4) 3.54 ft on 03/21/2012 (5) 2.52 ft on 12/13/2009 Show More Recent Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Low Water Records (1) -2.69 ft on 12/01/2008 (2) -2.67 ft on 01/02/2008 (3) -2.60 ft on 03/22/2010 (4) -2.50 ft on 03/01/2009 (5) -2.26 ft on 12/11/2008 Show More Low Water Records For more information on your flood risk go to www.floodsmart.gov. Show FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layers FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layers not showing? Why aren't the FEMA National Flood Hazard Layers showing on the ESRI Map? Possible reasons: There are no FEMA National Flood Hazard Layers for the location which you are viewing on ESRI Maps. The FEMA Web Mapping Service (WMS) is down. Note: Your zoom level may have changed. ESRI's zoom levels must be between 14 and 16 to show National Flood Hazard layers.

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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10	FLOODING BEGINS TO OVERTOP THE AREA AROUND THE PITHON COULEE PUMP STATION.
9.5	WATER LEVELS ARE NEAR THOSE REACHED WITH THE STORM SURGE FROM HURRICANE IKE IN 2008. WIDESPREAD FLOODING IS OCCURRING ACROSS SOUTH LAKE CHARLES...MUCH OF WEST LAKE...AND PORTIONS OF SULPHUR ALONG BAYOU D'INDE. INTERSTATE 10 BEGINS TO FLOOD NEAR SULPHUR. PORTIONS OF CARLYSS ARE FLOODED AS WELL.
8.5	WATER LEVELS ARE NEAR THOSE REACHED DURING THE STORM SURGE FROM HURRICANE RITA IN 2005. WIDSPREAD FLOODING OCCURS ALONG THE CALCASIEU RIVER AND THE MANY COULEES AND BAYOUS THAT CONNECT TO THE RIVER. MAJOR FLOODING OCCURS IN LAKE CHARLES...WEST LAKE AND PORTIONS OF SULPHUR ALONG BAYOU D'INDE.
7.8	WIDESPREAD FLOODING BEGINS IN LAKE CHARLES ALONG THE CALCASIEU RIVER SOUTH OF THE SALT WATER BARRIER AND THE MANY COULEES AND BAYOUS THAT CONNECT TO CALCASIEU RIVER. FLOODING BEGINS TO OVERTOP THE SEAWALL IN DOWNTOWN LAKE CHARLES. FLOODING ALSO OCCURS IN WEST LAKE AND PORTIONS OF SULPHUR AND CARLYSS.
5	AROUND 5 FEET...WATER BEGINS TO BACKUP INTO THE DOWNTOWN AREA OF LAKE CHARLES THROUGH THE STORM WATER RUNOFF SYSTEM.
3	SEVERAL ROADS NEAR THE RIVER IN NORTH LAKE CHARLES HAVE WATER OVER THEM. RIVER ROAD IN NORTHERN LAKE CHARLES AND MIMS ROAD IN WEST LAKE HAVE CONSIDERABLE FLOODING. THE I-10 BEACH AT LAKE CHARLES IS FLOODED.
2.5	FLOODING OCCURS AROUND THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN PORTIONS OF LAKE CHARLES NEAR THE CALCASIEU RIVER AND THE LAKE. SOME OF THE ROADS THAT HAVE WATER ON THEM...ARE RIVER ROAD IN NORTHERN LAKE CHARLES AND MIMS ROAD IN WEST LAKE. THE BOAT LAUNCH AT I-10 IS FLOODED.
2	SOME LOW SPOTS ON RIVER ROAD BEGIN TO FLOOD.
Photos (1) Tide Station Located on the Pithon Coulee Pumpstation on Lake Charles

Low Water Impacts

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-1	Navigation for larger ships becomes difficult up the ship channel. Smaller craft may have difficulty navigating outside of the main channel on area lakes.
-2	Larger ships may not be able to navigate the ship channel. Smaller Craft will have difficulty navigating the area lakes outside the main channel.

About This Location

Latitude: 30.223611° N, Longitude: 93.221667° W, Horizontal Datum: NAD83/WGS84 River Stage Reference Frame Gauge Height Flood Stage Uses NWS stage 0 ft 3 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 0.44 3.44 ft Survey grade GPS equipment, FEMA flood plain maps, newer USGS topographic maps NGVD 29 Not Available Not Available Older USGS topographic maps, NGVD29 benchmarks MSL Not Available Not Available Older USGS topographic maps, MSL benchmarks Other Not Available 3 ft Mean Lower Low Water

Additional Information

Guidance forecast values are not valid for high river flows or tropical cyclones. http://slosh.nws.noaa.gov/etss/station/petss1.0esri/index.php?stid=8767816&datum=MLLW&show=1-1-0-1-1-1-1-1

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