Lake Charles, Louisiana Hail Report and Map: July 5, 2026

Published October 15, 2026 by StormLens · Storm date (Eastern time) July 5, 2026

Was there hail in Lake Charles, LA on July 5, 2026? Radar estimated hail up to 1.2 inches inside the town limits of Lake Charles on July 5, 2026 (Eastern time). Radar estimates of at least 0.5 inch covered 6% of the town. Across the report area, the maximum radar estimate was 1.61 inches. The strongest part of the swath was about 14 miles north of Lake Charles, LA. Radar detected hail aloft in this area between about 5:45 p.m. and 9:05 p.m. CT on July 5, 2026.

Radar-estimated hail swath in Lake Charles, LA on July 5, 2026; colors show estimated hail sizes

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Hail estimates at a glance

Storm date (Eastern time)	July 5, 2026 (Sunday)
Maximum radar estimate across the area	1.61 inches; strongest part of the swath about 14 miles north of Lake Charles, LA
Maximum radar estimate inside Lake Charles	1.2 inches
Share of Lake Charles with radar estimates of at least 0.5 inch	6%
Approximate radar timing	Between about 5:45 p.m. and 9:05 p.m. CT on July 5, 2026 (Central time)
County coverage includes (0.5 inch or larger)	Calcasieu Parish (118 sq mi), Jefferson Davis Parish (70 sq mi), Acadia Parish (54 sq mi), Beauregard Parish (53 sq mi), Jasper County (27 sq mi) and Newton County (22 sq mi)
Area with radar estimates of 0.5 inch or larger	about 383 square miles
Area with radar estimates of 1 inch or larger	about 38 square miles
Source	NOAA MRMS radar hail estimates (MESH)

Which towns had hail on July 5, 2026?

Radar estimated hail of at least 0.5 inch inside these town limits, using U.S. Census boundaries. Each percentage is the share of town area with those estimates.

Town	County	Maximum radar estimate inside town limits	Town area with estimates of at least 0.5 inch
Lake Charles, LA	Calcasieu Parish	1.2 inches	6%
Forest Heights, TX		1.03 inches	30%
Lacassine, LA		0.79 inch	73%
Estherwood, LA	Acadia Parish	0.75 inch	27%

Towns near the hail

The strongest part of the swath was within 15 miles of these towns. Distances and directions run from each town to that part of the swath.

Moss Bluff, LA: strongest radar estimates about 8 miles northeast of town

What time did radar detect hail?

Radar detected hail aloft in this area between about 5:45 p.m. and 9:05 p.m. CT on July 5, 2026. We used 102 NOAA radar hail detections in this area to estimate the window. We trim outlying detection times when enough are available, then round down to five-minute marks. It doesn't give an arrival time at an address.

Data source and limits

We use NOAA's MRMS radar product MESH (Maximum Estimated Size of Hail) for hail-size estimates. Each town's figure is the maximum inside its Census town limits. The percentage is the town area with estimates of at least 0.5 inch. A town's maximum isn't an estimate for every home. Each storm date covers one calendar day in Eastern time. A late-evening storm west of the Eastern time zone can appear under two dates. Radar estimates don't confirm hail on the ground or roof damage. Hail of 0.5 to 0.75 inch can damage roofs, especially older roofs. An estimate below 1 inch doesn't rule out damage. Read how we calculate sizes and times.