Thunderstorm Wind — Calcasieu, Louisiana

2010-05-26 · near Houston River, Calcasieu, Louisiana

Event narrative

An NWS storm survey found a small but severe microburst struck Westlake High School and adjacent areas in the central part of Westlake. This 200-yard wide by 300-yard long microburst occurred within a larger scale downburst that affected much of the city of Westlake. At the high school, the western one-third of the aluminum metal gymnasium roof was ripped off and blown westward into the adjacent parking lot, overturning one vehicle and damaging three others. A basketball team inside the gymnasium was not injured. The press box on the western side of the football stadium was destroyed, with debris left dangling between nearby light poles and the stands. Across the street, the Westlake Fire Department building received damage to the east side of the building. Because of the damage, all classes at Westlake High School were canceled on May 27, which was to be the last day of school. All damage was blown in a west-southwest direction, with winds estimated around 100 mph.

Wider weather episode

Numerous strong to severe thunderstorms developed across southwest Louisiana during the afternoon hours on May 26. Over a dozen reports of large hail, damaging winds, and even one tornado were received. Damage totals reached into the millions of dollars, making this the worst severe thunderstorm event for the Spring 2010 season in the WFO Lake Charles county warning area.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (30.2627, -93.2638)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 237718. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.