General Information

Public & Fire Zone Changes

On March 8, 2023, the National Weather Service office in Lake Charles, LA (LCH) completed changes to the Public and Fire Weather Forecast Zones encompassing Acadia, Calcasieu, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, St. Mary and Vermilion Parishes in Southwest and South-Central Louisiana, as well as Jefferson and Orange Counties in Southeast Texas.

These changes are intended to provide increased flexibility and improved accuracy of forecast, watch, warning, and advisory products.

The existing zones were divided for improvements in warnings, watches, advisories, and forecasts for coastal flooding and storm surge events, as well as to better target storm surge warning dissemination through the Wireless Emergency Alert system. The new zone divisions roughly account for storm surge threats posed by most category 2 and lower hurricanes along with feedback provided by local emergency officials for the areas they use to describe local evacuations. The changes to the parish and county zones are described below:

St. Mary Parish: The zone split was along U.S. Highway 90 and created Upper St. Mary Parish and Lower St. Mary Parish.

St. Mary Parish before change		St. Mary Parish after change

Iberia Parish: The zone split was along Louisiana Highway 14 until its intersection with U.S. Highway 90, continuing along U.S. 90 to the parish line with St. Mary. This change created Upper Iberia Parish and Lower Iberia Parish.

Iberia Parish before change		Iberia Parish after change

Vermilion Parish: The zone split was along Louisiana Highway 14 and created Upper Vermilion Parish and Lower Vermilion Parish.

Vermilion Parish before change		Vermilion Parish after change

Acadia Parish: The zone split was along U.S. Highway 90 from the western parish boundary to just east of Estherwood when U.S. 90 turns northeast. From there, the split boundary runs due east to the parish line. This change created Northern Acadia Parish and Southern Acadia Parish.

Acadia Parish before change		Acadia Parish after change

Jefferson Davis Parish: The zone split was along U.S. Highway 90 and created Northern Jefferson Davis Parish and Southern Jefferson Davis Parish.

Jefferson Davis Parish before change		Jefferson Davis Parish after change

Calcasieu Parish: The zone split was along Interstate 10 and created Northern Calcasieu Parish and Southern Calcasieu Parish.

Calcasieu Parish before change		Calcasieu Parish after change

Orange County: The zone split was along Interstate 10 and created Northern Orange County and Southern Orange County.

Orange County before change		Orange County after change

Jefferson County: The zone split was along Interstate 10 and created Upper Jefferson County and Lower Jefferson County.

Jefferson County before change		Jefferson County after change

Table 1: Old public and fire zones and corresponding Universal Geographic Codes (UGC) for WFO Lake Charles:

UGC: Old public & fire zones and corresponding UGC for which WFO Lake Charles issued forecasts and warnings.
----------------------------------
LAZ041: Calcasieu Parish
LAZ042: Jefferson Davis Parish
LAZ043: Acadia Parish
LAZ052: Vermilion Parish
LAZ053: Iberia Parish
LAZ054: St. Mary Parish
TXZ215: Jefferson County
TXZ216: Orange County

Table 2: New public & fire zones and corresponding UGC for which WFO Lake Charles is issuing forecasts and warnings effective March 8, 2023:

UGC: New Public Zone Name
-------------------------------
LAZ141: Northern Calcasieu Parish
LAZ241: Southern Calcasieu Parish
LAZ142: Northern Jefferson Davis Parish
LAZ242: Southern Jefferson Davis Parish
LAZ143: Northern Acadia Parish
LAZ243: Southern Acadia Parish
LAZ152: Upper Vermilion Parish
LAZ252: Lower Vermilion Parish
LAZ153: Upper Iberia Parish
LAZ253: Lower Iberia Parish
LAZ154: Upper St. Mary Parish
LAZ254: Lower St. Mary Parish
TXZ515: Upper Jefferson County
TXZ615: Lower Jefferson County
TXZ516: Northern Orange County
TXZ616: Southern Orange County

Table 3: NWS products affected by the WFO Lake Charles, LA, zone changes effective March 8, 2023:

Product Name         WMO Heading    AWIPS ID
---------------------------        -----------    --------
Hurricane Local Statement          WTUS82 KLCH    HLSLCH
Tropical Cyclone Watch/Warning     WTNT81 KNHC    TCVAT1-5
Coastal Hazard Message             WHUS42 KLCH    CFWLCH
Fire Weather Forecast              FNUS52 KLCH    FWFLCH
Fire Weather Message               WWUS82 KLCH    RFWLCH
Fire Danger Statement              FNUS62 KLCH    RFDLCH
Zone Forecast                      FPUS52 KLCH    ZFPLCH
Point Forecast Matrices            FOUS52 KLCH    PFMLCH
Tabular State Forecast             FPUS62 KLCH    SFTLCH
Tsunami Message                    WEXX20 PAAQ    TSUAT1
Public Information Statement       NOUS42 KLCH    PNSLCH
Non-Precipitation Watch/Warning/   WWUS72 KLCH    NPWLCH
Advisory
Flood Watch                        WGUS62 KLCH    FFALCH
Special Weather Statement          WWUS82 KLCH    SPSLCH
Winter Weather Message             WWUS42 KLCH    WSWLCH
Area Forecast Discussion           FXUS62 KLCH    AFDLCH
Hydrologic Outlook                 FGUS72 KLCH    ESFLCH
Hazardous Weather Outlook          FLUS42 KLCH    HWOLCH

NWS partners and users should take the appropriate action to ensure systems recognize the new UGC (Z) and new zone alignments and names.

Shapefiles for public and fire weather forecast zones are available online at:
https://www.weather.gov/gis/PublicZones
https://www.weather.gov/gis/FireZones

A written and graphical depiction of this change is available online at:
https://www.weather.gov/lch/2023PublicZoneChange

For more information, please contact:

Roger Erickson
Meteorologist-In-Charge
NWS Lake Charles, LA
roger.erickson@noaa.gov
337-477-5285 x222

or

Melinda Bailey
NWS Southern Region Headquarters
Fort Worth, TX
melinda.bailey@noaa.gov
904-741-4470 x223

National Service Change Notice 22-121 is available at:
https://www.weather.gov/media/notification/pdf2/scn22-121_public_fire_lch.pdf