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State Area Hydrologic Information
A primary responsibility
of the NWS is to provide flood warnings and information. The Shreveport
HSA (Hydrologic Service Area) provides flood warnings for 49 primary
gaging stations.
Flooding events are possible any time of the year, although most
flood events happen during the winter and spring months. The summer
and early autumn flood events usually result from decaying tropical
cyclones. These tropical cyclones will occasionally stall over
land resulting in extended periods of heavy rainfall.
It has become the responsibility of the National Weather Service
and its sister agencies to forewarn the public who live in those
areas regarding the potential of flooding.
Historic Floods
Several major and catastrophic
floods have inundated parts of the Shreveport HSA since 1800. A
great flood affected the Red River according to Caddo Indian tribal
accounts during 1800 and helped to reinforce the "Great Log Raft"
on the river. Indeed the log raft acted as a dam that resulted in
high water conditions and backwater flooding on several tributaries
especially in the lower Cypress Bayou basin of extreme east Texas
and extreme northwest Louisiana. This resulted in the formation
of Caddo Lake and is considered the only natural lake in the state
of Texas. Captain Henry Miller Shreve directed the clearing of the
log raft throughout much of Louisiana during the 1830's through
the 1850's and Shreveport, Louisiana is named to honor him...
The flood of record inundated the Red River during what was obviously
the remnants of a tropical cyclone during August of 1849. Although
it is doubted that flows exceeded the floods of 1892 and 1945 due
to the log raft, nevertheless, this flood changed the streambed
of the Red River to its present course. The Red River formerly flowed
through Natchitoches, Louisiana, but the flood of 1849 reverted
its course to what it was before the flood of 1825 and what it is
currently. Only a large oxbow lake romantically known as the Cane
River remains in downtown Natchitoches and extends upstream and
downstream to near Grand Ecore and Colfax, Louisiana respectively.
A great flood affected the Neches and Angelina Rivers of east Texas
during May of 1884. Record stages were some two to three feet higher
than modern day records. Widespread flooding was noted throughout
much of the Neches River basin as well as the adjacent lower Sabine
river basin.
The most widespread flooding on record was during the spring of
1945. Several floods of record were noted on the Sulphur, Sabine,
Red, Ouachita, and Little (southeast Oklahoma and southwest Arkansas)
during this time. These floods were before the modern period of
flood control reservoirs built during the 50s through the 70s. Indeed,
it can be said that the floods of 1945 as well as the twin flood
years of 1957 and 1958 resulted in reservoir construction across
the Shreveport HSA.
Torrential rainfall up to 16 inches fell over parts of the Little
River basin of southeast Oklahoma during December of 1971. The Glover
River rose so high that cows were left behind in trees. The Little
River rose to its highest levels on record and flooded tens of thousands
of acres. This flooding was even after the major flood control reservoirs
were completed on the Little River and its tributary, the Mountain
Fork.
The worst flooding since 1945 happened in 1990. The Red, Sulphur,
and Sabine River basins were in near record flood. Lake Texoma on
the Red River set an all time record pool stage as well as Hugo
Dam on its tributary, the Kiamichi River. Hundreds of thousands
of acres were flooded on the Red. All of this flooding occurred
in spite of tributary reservoirs having very low releases and enduring
very high inflows. Many reservoirs reached near record or record
high pool stages. Hugo and Denison Dams sustained uncontrolled spillway
releases for several days.
Flooding moved east during 1991 into northern Louisiana and southern
Arkansas. Numerous floods of record were broken on the Ouachita
River and its tributaries such as Bayou Laforche and Bayou D'Arbonne
during this time. Several reservoirs and lakes in northern Louisiana
noted record high pool stages as well. Levee breaches along the
Ouachita River allowed water to be exchanged into Bayou LaFourche
and the Beouf River.
Record flooding again visited parts of northwest Louisiana during
April of 1997 with Bayou Dorcheat, Red Chute Bayou, and the Flat
River rising to near records to exceeding floods of records during
the first two weeks of April. Lake Bistineau rose to near its flood
record set during 1991 and Loggy Bayou was affected with severe
flooding due to high inflows from Lake Bistineau, Red Chute Bayou,
and Flat River as well as backwater from high water on the Red River.
Significant flooding returned during January 28th and 29th of 1999
as very heavy rainfall of six to eleven inches resulted in several
east-central Texas rivers and northwest Louisiana to rise to near
their floods of records. Wallace Lake in south Shreveport set a
new pool stage record with some 50 homes flooded.
Decaying tropical cyclones have also produced significant floods
across the Shreveport HSA. Some of the more memorable storms include
the unnamed storms of August 1849, June 1902, and July 1933. Rainfall
amounts of up to sixteen inches in a twenty-four hour period were
common across northwest Louisiana and east central Texas during
July 23rd through the 25th of 1933. Other notable tropical cyclones
include Hurricane Bonnie in 1986, Tropical Storm Allison in 1989,
and Tropical Storm Arlene in 1993.
Other major flood years on the Red River and its tributaries include
1871, 1890, 1892, and 1908 from records at Arthur City, Texas, Fulton,
Arkansas, and Shreveport and Alexandria Louisiana.
If you have any stories related to these or any other floods, please
email us: NWS
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