Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Lake Charles, LA
April 26, 2024 1:12 PM CDT (18:12 UTC) Change Location
 | Sunrise 6:32 AM Sunset 7:48 PM Moonrise 9:48 PM Moonset 7:01 AM |
GMZ432 Calcasieu Lake- 356 Am Cdt Fri Apr 26 2024
.small craft exercise caution in effect until 10 am cdt this morning - .
.small craft advisory in effect from 10 am cdt this morning through Sunday morning - .
Today - South winds 15 to 20 knots with gusts up to 30 knots. Lake waters rough.
Tonight - Southeast winds 15 to 20 knots with gusts up to 30 knots. Lake waters rough.
Saturday - Southeast winds 20 to 25 knots with gusts up to 30 knots. Lake waters very rough.
Saturday night - Southeast winds 20 to 25 knots with gusts up to 30 knots. Lake waters very rough.
Sunday - Southeast winds 20 to 25 knots with gusts up to 30 knots. Lake waters very rough. A slight chance of showers and Thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Sunday night - Southeast winds 20 to 25 knots, diminishing to 15 to 20 knots after midnight. Lake waters very rough. A slight chance of showers and Thunderstorms in the evening, then a chance of showers and Thunderstorms after midnight.
Monday - South winds 15 to 20 knots, diminishing to 10 to 15 knots in the afternoon. Lake waters rough. A chance of showers and Thunderstorms.
Monday night - Southeast winds around 10 knots. Lake waters light chop. A chance of showers and Thunderstorms, mainly in the evening.
Tuesday - Southeast winds around 10 knots. Lake waters light chop. A slight chance of showers and Thunderstorms in the morning, then a chance of showers and Thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Tuesday night - Southeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Lake waters light chop.
winds and waves higher in and near Thunderstorms.
winds and waves higher in and near Thunderstorms.
GMZ400 356 Am Cdt Fri Apr 26 2024
Synopsis - A tight pressure gradient between a series of lows over the southern plains and a high off the east coast will allow for a prolonged period of strong and gusty southerly winds. Sustained winds are likely to be near or above 20 knots through the weekend with gusts over 30 knots. This, along with building seas to as high as 10 feet offshore, will bring about a long duration small craft advisory through the weekend. The onshore winds will decrease early next week as the high weakens off the east coast and no deep surface lows are expected to form over the southern plains.
Area Discussion for - Lake Charles, LA
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FXUS64 KLCH 261545 AFDLCH
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lake Charles LA 1045 AM CDT Fri Apr 26 2024
New UPDATE, AVIATION
UPDATE
Wx map shows an intensifying and nearly stacked surface low/mid to upper level shortwave over KS/NE, a surface high over the NE U.S.
and a tight pressure gradient between the two features all the way to the Gulf. South winds have definitely increased over SE TX/SW LA and approaching Wind Advisory criteria with sustained winds around 20 mph with gusts over 30 mph, which is over most guidance available. If this trend continues, likely to initiate the Wind Advisory for this area this afternoon. Already have one ongoing for Saturday, expecting even stronger winds. Otherwise, main area of precipitation expected to remain west and north of the area.
Expected to remain mostly cloudy. Latest HRRR guidance shows a few showers possible later this evening and overnight, but nothing significant.
08/DML
SHORT TERM
(Today through Sunday night)
Issued at 430 AM CDT Fri Apr 26 2024
The pattern for today into the weekend will see a series of low pressure systems move across the Southern Plains with a high over the western Atlantic ridging in from the east. This will allow for very warm and muggy conditions, along with quite breezy and gusty winds.
For today, consensus of short term guidance keeps sustained wind speeds for the most part at or below 20 mph. Therefore, a wind advisory will not be issued. At the moment, no pops are in the forecast, however will need to watch a short wave moving in from the west this afternoon to see if it kicks off any convection over Texas that may move toward the forecast area.
Gradient tightens further on Saturday into Sunday, and both sustained winds and gusts are expected to be higher. Have gone ahead and issued a Wind Advisory on Saturday from 9 am to 7 pm local for locations mainly along and south of the I-10 corridor where sustained wind speed will over 20 mph and near 25 mph with gusts over 35 mph.
Late on Sunday, the upper level ridge breaks down enough that a short wave will move into the region and push a weak frontal boundary toward the forecast area. During very late Sunday afternoon into Sunday night, very rich Gulf moisture will pool across the northwest portion of the forecast area with PWAT values between 1.6 and 1.8 inches, which is above the 90th percentile of SPC climo, and 100H-50H mean layer relative humidity over 75 percent. Lift from this short wave will help develop showers and storms across the northwest portion of the forecast area that will slowly progress to the east.
With the high moisture content, and instability, with CAPES over 2000 j/kg, some stronger convection with high rainfall rates may form. With progged slow storm motions, and flow becoming parallel to the 85H-70H theta-e ridge, some localized heavy rainfall may occur from very late Sunday afternoon into Sunday night.
Rua
LONG TERM
(Monday through Friday)
Issued at 430 AM CDT Fri Apr 26 2024
The longterm forecast period appears fairly busy with a series of weak disturbances set to move across the region. The first takes place Monday as a weak piece of trof energy extending from low pressure in north central US looks to swing over the northern Gulf states throughout the day. Fairly widespread showers and thunderstorms can be expected with its passage.
Remnant showers and isolated thunderstorms are possible Tuesday, Wednesday and again Thursday with increasingly weak disturbances moving overhead. When not dealing with precipitation, high pressure attempting to ridge in from the east over the work week will keep a strong feed of moisture into the area resulting in several days of hot, humid weather.
Temperatures slightly above normal are expected over the longterm period. High's in the low to mid 80s are expected Monday and Tuesday with rainfall keeping temps slightly in check. Wednesday and beyond look to top out slightly higher in the mid to upper 80s.
11/Calhoun
AVIATION
(18Z TAFS)
Intermittent MVFR/VFR ceilings expected this afternoon, expected to become predominately MVFR after 22z through the remainder of the period. No significant precipitation expected, although may have brief drizzle from time to time. The other story will be the wind. Southerly winds around 18-20 kts with gusts near 30 kts ongoing at BPT/LCH and likely to continue this afternoon. Further north and east, slightly less around 15-17 kts with gust over 25 kts. This evening and overnight, winds will not diminish much, likely to remain in the 14-16 kt range, and expected to pick up to 18-22 kts with gusts over 30 kts after 15z Saturday.
08/DML
MARINE
Issued at 430 AM CDT Fri Apr 26 2024
Onshore winds are beginning to increase across the coastal waters as gradient between a high pressure off the east coast of the US and a low pressure system east of the Rockies in the Southern Plains begins to tighten. This pattern will continue through the weekend with a tight pressure gradient over the northwest Gulf between a series of lows over the Southern Plains and a high off the east coast and will allow for a prolonged period of strong and gusty southerly winds.
Sustained winds are likely to be near or above 20 knots through the weekend with gusts over 30 knots. This, along with building seas to as high as 10 feet offshore, will bring about a long duration small craft advisory through the weekend.
The prolonged fetch and duration of the strong onshore winds will increase water levels along the coast. Currently tides are about 0.5 to 0.75 feet above predicted levels and are expected to increase to between 1.0 and 1.5 feet by tomorrow. Therefore, actual tide levels are progged to be above the 1.5 MHHW threshold for a coastal flood advisory during high tide on Saturday morning for lower southeast Texas and lower southwest Louisiana. These conditions will likely continue for the high tide Sunday morning and will probably extend further east also.
Winds are expected to decrease early next week as the high weakens off the east coast and no deep surface lows are forecast to form over the Southern Plains.
Rua
PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS
AEX 84 69 87 67 / 10 10 10 0 LCH 82 72 84 72 / 0 10 0 0 LFT 85 72 87 70 / 0 0 0 0 BPT 82 72 84 72 / 10 10 0 0
LCH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
LA...Wind Advisory from 9 AM to 7 PM CDT Saturday for LAZ044-045-055- 073-074-141>143-152>154-241>243-252>254.
Coastal Flood Advisory from 5 AM to 11 AM CDT Saturday for LAZ073-074.
TX...Wind Advisory from 9 AM to 7 PM CDT Saturday for TXZ515-516-615- 616.
Coastal Flood Advisory from 5 AM to 11 AM CDT Saturday for TXZ615.
GM...Small Craft Advisory until 7 AM CDT Sunday for GMZ430-432-450- 452-470-472.
Small Craft Advisory from 9 AM Saturday to 7 AM CDT Sunday for GMZ435-436.
Small Craft Advisory from 10 PM this evening to 7 AM CDT Sunday for GMZ455-475.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lake Charles LA 1045 AM CDT Fri Apr 26 2024
New UPDATE, AVIATION
UPDATE
Wx map shows an intensifying and nearly stacked surface low/mid to upper level shortwave over KS/NE, a surface high over the NE U.S.
and a tight pressure gradient between the two features all the way to the Gulf. South winds have definitely increased over SE TX/SW LA and approaching Wind Advisory criteria with sustained winds around 20 mph with gusts over 30 mph, which is over most guidance available. If this trend continues, likely to initiate the Wind Advisory for this area this afternoon. Already have one ongoing for Saturday, expecting even stronger winds. Otherwise, main area of precipitation expected to remain west and north of the area.
Expected to remain mostly cloudy. Latest HRRR guidance shows a few showers possible later this evening and overnight, but nothing significant.
08/DML
SHORT TERM
(Today through Sunday night)
Issued at 430 AM CDT Fri Apr 26 2024
The pattern for today into the weekend will see a series of low pressure systems move across the Southern Plains with a high over the western Atlantic ridging in from the east. This will allow for very warm and muggy conditions, along with quite breezy and gusty winds.
For today, consensus of short term guidance keeps sustained wind speeds for the most part at or below 20 mph. Therefore, a wind advisory will not be issued. At the moment, no pops are in the forecast, however will need to watch a short wave moving in from the west this afternoon to see if it kicks off any convection over Texas that may move toward the forecast area.
Gradient tightens further on Saturday into Sunday, and both sustained winds and gusts are expected to be higher. Have gone ahead and issued a Wind Advisory on Saturday from 9 am to 7 pm local for locations mainly along and south of the I-10 corridor where sustained wind speed will over 20 mph and near 25 mph with gusts over 35 mph.
Late on Sunday, the upper level ridge breaks down enough that a short wave will move into the region and push a weak frontal boundary toward the forecast area. During very late Sunday afternoon into Sunday night, very rich Gulf moisture will pool across the northwest portion of the forecast area with PWAT values between 1.6 and 1.8 inches, which is above the 90th percentile of SPC climo, and 100H-50H mean layer relative humidity over 75 percent. Lift from this short wave will help develop showers and storms across the northwest portion of the forecast area that will slowly progress to the east.
With the high moisture content, and instability, with CAPES over 2000 j/kg, some stronger convection with high rainfall rates may form. With progged slow storm motions, and flow becoming parallel to the 85H-70H theta-e ridge, some localized heavy rainfall may occur from very late Sunday afternoon into Sunday night.
Rua
LONG TERM
(Monday through Friday)
Issued at 430 AM CDT Fri Apr 26 2024
The longterm forecast period appears fairly busy with a series of weak disturbances set to move across the region. The first takes place Monday as a weak piece of trof energy extending from low pressure in north central US looks to swing over the northern Gulf states throughout the day. Fairly widespread showers and thunderstorms can be expected with its passage.
Remnant showers and isolated thunderstorms are possible Tuesday, Wednesday and again Thursday with increasingly weak disturbances moving overhead. When not dealing with precipitation, high pressure attempting to ridge in from the east over the work week will keep a strong feed of moisture into the area resulting in several days of hot, humid weather.
Temperatures slightly above normal are expected over the longterm period. High's in the low to mid 80s are expected Monday and Tuesday with rainfall keeping temps slightly in check. Wednesday and beyond look to top out slightly higher in the mid to upper 80s.
11/Calhoun
AVIATION
(18Z TAFS)
Intermittent MVFR/VFR ceilings expected this afternoon, expected to become predominately MVFR after 22z through the remainder of the period. No significant precipitation expected, although may have brief drizzle from time to time. The other story will be the wind. Southerly winds around 18-20 kts with gusts near 30 kts ongoing at BPT/LCH and likely to continue this afternoon. Further north and east, slightly less around 15-17 kts with gust over 25 kts. This evening and overnight, winds will not diminish much, likely to remain in the 14-16 kt range, and expected to pick up to 18-22 kts with gusts over 30 kts after 15z Saturday.
08/DML
MARINE
Issued at 430 AM CDT Fri Apr 26 2024
Onshore winds are beginning to increase across the coastal waters as gradient between a high pressure off the east coast of the US and a low pressure system east of the Rockies in the Southern Plains begins to tighten. This pattern will continue through the weekend with a tight pressure gradient over the northwest Gulf between a series of lows over the Southern Plains and a high off the east coast and will allow for a prolonged period of strong and gusty southerly winds.
Sustained winds are likely to be near or above 20 knots through the weekend with gusts over 30 knots. This, along with building seas to as high as 10 feet offshore, will bring about a long duration small craft advisory through the weekend.
The prolonged fetch and duration of the strong onshore winds will increase water levels along the coast. Currently tides are about 0.5 to 0.75 feet above predicted levels and are expected to increase to between 1.0 and 1.5 feet by tomorrow. Therefore, actual tide levels are progged to be above the 1.5 MHHW threshold for a coastal flood advisory during high tide on Saturday morning for lower southeast Texas and lower southwest Louisiana. These conditions will likely continue for the high tide Sunday morning and will probably extend further east also.
Winds are expected to decrease early next week as the high weakens off the east coast and no deep surface lows are forecast to form over the Southern Plains.
Rua
PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS
AEX 84 69 87 67 / 10 10 10 0 LCH 82 72 84 72 / 0 10 0 0 LFT 85 72 87 70 / 0 0 0 0 BPT 82 72 84 72 / 10 10 0 0
LCH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
LA...Wind Advisory from 9 AM to 7 PM CDT Saturday for LAZ044-045-055- 073-074-141>143-152>154-241>243-252>254.
Coastal Flood Advisory from 5 AM to 11 AM CDT Saturday for LAZ073-074.
TX...Wind Advisory from 9 AM to 7 PM CDT Saturday for TXZ515-516-615- 616.
Coastal Flood Advisory from 5 AM to 11 AM CDT Saturday for TXZ615.
GM...Small Craft Advisory until 7 AM CDT Sunday for GMZ430-432-450- 452-470-472.
Small Craft Advisory from 9 AM Saturday to 7 AM CDT Sunday for GMZ435-436.
Small Craft Advisory from 10 PM this evening to 7 AM CDT Sunday for GMZ455-475.
| Stations | Dist | Age | Wind | Air Temp | Water Temp | Waves | inHg | DewPt |
| LCLL1 - 8767816 - Lake Charles, LA | 0 mi | 55 min | 80°F | 80°F | 29.96 | |||
| BKTL1 | 5 mi | 55 min | 81°F | |||||
| CAPL1 - 8768094 - Calcasieu Pass, LA | 33 mi | 55 min | SSE 14G | 76°F | 76°F | 29.96 | ||
| PORT2 - 8770475 - Port Arthur, TX | 45 mi | 55 min | SE 12G | 78°F | 74°F | 29.89 |
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Airport Reports
EDIT (hide/show) Help Click EDIT to display multiple airports. Follow links for more data.| Airport | Dist | Age | Wind kt | Vis | Sky | Weather | Temp | DewPt | RH | inHg |
| KCWF CHENNAULT INTL,LA | 4 sm | 2.5 hrs | SSE 19G25 | 10 sm | Mostly Cloudy | 79°F | 68°F | 70% | 29.96 | |
| KLCH LAKE CHARLES RGNL,LA | 7 sm | 7 min | S 15G27 | 10 sm | Mostly Cloudy | 82°F | 72°F | 70% | 29.96 | |
| KUXL SOUTHLAND FIELD,LA | 11 sm | 17 min | SSE 16G26 | 10 sm | Overcast | 81°F | 73°F | 79% | 29.95 |
Tide / Current for Lake Charles, Calcasieu River, Louisiana
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Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION
Lake Charles, Calcasieu River, Louisiana, Tide feet
Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION
Orange (Old Navy Base), Texas, Tide feet
Lake Charles, LA,
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