Bess Branch at Alligator Park water level
NWS gauge CSSL1 · Calcasieu Parish Police Jury · Calcasieu Parish · Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana
stage, NAVD88 · Nov 3, 2026 at 10:05 PM CST · 45 minutes ago
- Below NWS minor flood stage
- 9.7 ft
- NWS action stage
- 18.0 ft
- NWS minor flood stage
- 20.0 ft
- NWS moderate flood stage
- 23.0 ft
- NWS major flood stage
- 26.0 ft
- Highest NWS crest
- 23.74 ft (April 29, 2020)
- Usual range
- 10.31 to 10.42 ft
- Highest since October 4, 2026
- 10.47 ft
- Flood Warning — issued Nov 3, 2026 at 9:06 AM CST, expires Nov 4, 2026 at 10:00 AM CST.
Flood Warning issued November 3 at 9:06AM CST until November 7 at 12:00AM CST by NWS Lake Charles LA
Text as issued by NWS Lake Charles LA.
Last 7 days
Hourly averages of the readings. The shaded band is this gauge's usual range: the middle 80% of its readings since October 4, 2026.
How to read this gauge
The number is the water surface elevation in feet on NAVD88, the current national vertical datum: a height above a fixed survey reference, not a depth. Readings on different datums can't be compared directly.
The flood stages are the National Weather Service's references for this location, on the same scale as the reading. They describe the gauge, not any particular street or property.
Readings the NWS marks out of service are left out, and so is any single reading more than 2 ft from the readings either side of it, which is a sensor error rather than water; a newest reading that far from the one before waits for the next to agree.
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury runs this gauge; the National Weather Service publishes its readings and its flood stages, which is where this site reads them.
NWS historic crests
| Date | Crest | Above minor flood stage |
|---|---|---|
| April 29, 2020 | 23.74 ft | 3.7 ft |
The highest crests the National Weather Service lists for this gauge, as published, on the same scale as the reading.
Daily highs and lows since October 4, 2026
Other NWS-published gauges in Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana
| Gauge | Stage | Datum | NWS flood stage | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayou Lacassine at Lorrain Park | -0.01 ft | — | 4.0 ft below minor flood stage | 30 minutes ago |
| Calcasieu River at Goos Ferry Road | 1.85 ft | NAVD88 | at or above action stage | 30 minutes ago |
| Calcasieu River at Saltwater Barrier | 3.90 ft | — | 0.1 ft below minor flood stage | 18 hours ago |
| Calcasieu River at White Oak Park | 2.28 ft | NAVD88 | at or above minor flood stage | 2 hours ago |
| Choupique Bayou at Highway 108 | 1.89 ft | — | 3.1 ft below minor flood stage | 35 minutes ago |
| Contraband Bayou at Common Street | 1.60 ft | — | 6.4 ft below minor flood stage | 30 minutes ago |
| Houston River at Anthony Ferry Road | 1.69 ft | NAVD88 | 2.8 ft below minor flood stage | 30 minutes ago |
| Indian Bayou at Coffey Road | 1.78 ft | NAVD88 | 11.2 ft below minor flood stage | 40 minutes ago |
| Little Bayou D'Inde at Wright Road | 1.13 ft | — | 4.9 ft below minor flood stage | 35 minutes ago |
| Mermentau River at Lacassine Wildlife Refuge | 3.23 ft | — | — | 2 hours ago |
| West Fork Calcasieu River at Dunn Ferry Road | 1.70 ft | — | 3.3 ft below minor flood stage | 35 minutes ago |
Download the readings
bess-branch-at-alligator-park.csv (CSV): every reading from the last 90 days, 1,340 rows, with time in UTC and local time, and the reading in feet on NAVD88.
bess-branch-at-alligator-park-daily.csv (CSV): the low and high of every day since October 4, 2026.
Source. Readings from Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, as published by the National Weather Service, which also sets the flood stages and lists the crests. The NWS name for this gauge is “Bess Branch at Alligator Park”. Recent readings are provisional and can be revised. This site is not affiliated with either.