Storm Event Lookup for Port Arthur Properties

How the storm event lookup works

This storm event lookup helps Port Arthur and Jefferson County property owners find official weather reports near a location and date. Enter a city or ZIP code, choose a search radius, and optionally add the approximate date of loss. The tool then measures the distance from the center point of that city or ZIP code to each report that has coordinates and lists the ones inside your radius.

Results draw on two sources:

• NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database – the verified federal record, published a few months after events occur. You can browse it in full on the storm history page.
• National Weather Service Local Storm Reports – preliminary reports from NWS Lake Charles that appear within hours of a storm. The newest ones are also listed on the recent weather events page.

Some events, such as hurricanes, tropical storms, storm surge, and freezes, are recorded for a whole county or NWS forecast zone rather than a single point. Those county- and zone-wide events appear in your results when you set a date or date range that matches them.

Tips for better results

• Start with your date of loss and a ±7-day window. People often remember the week of a storm but not the exact day, and a hurricane may be logged across several dates as it approaches and passes.
• Widen the radius outside town. Spotters and reports are concentrated in populated places. If your property is in a rural part of the county, such as the Hamshire or Fannett area, try 10 or 20 miles.
• Filter by event type once you know what you are looking for, such as wind for missing shingles or flash flood for water that entered from outside.
• Use a date range if you discovered damage later and are not sure which storm caused it.

Documenting what you find

If you find a report that matches your date and area, save it. Open the linked NCEI record or note the NWS report details, then screenshot or print it with the date, time, location, magnitude, and source visible. Add it to your claim file together with:

• Dated photos and video of the damage, ideally taken before any cleanup or repairs.
• Notes on when you noticed the damage and what you saw during the storm.
• Your claim numbers, adjuster contacts, and a log of communications.
• Repair estimates and receipts for emergency mitigation such as tarping or water extraction.

Our claim documentation checklist walks through this step by step, and how to document storm damage in Port Arthur covers photos in more detail.

Limitations: nearby does not mean damaged

A storm report is evidence that weather was observed at a place and time. It is not proof that your property was damaged, and it does not decide coverage. Wind and rain can vary sharply over short distances, so a report three miles away may not reflect what happened at your building. The opposite is also true: storms frequently damage properties where no one filed a report.

Also remember that preliminary NWS reports may contain estimated sizes, speeds, and locations that are later revised, and that distances here are measured from a city or ZIP center, not your address. Use these records as one part of your documentation alongside a physical inspection. If your insurer disputes the date or cause of storm damage, a licensed public adjuster can help review the evidence; see our storm damage claims page.