EF1 tornado in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana

A tornado touched down near Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge on Highway 190. Damage began at homes just north of 190, including minor roof damage, a shed destroyed, and dozens of trees

snapped. The tornado continued NE and similar damage was noted along Azalea St and Cane Bayou Ln. A tree was uprooted on the corner of Lound Dr and Blackwell Dr. The tornado crossed I-12 and continued NE to Fish Hatchery Rd. Radar showed a tornado debris signature in rural areas between 190 and Fish Hatchery Rd. The tornado track continued NE and began to track along Highway 1088 just SW of Highway 36. In this area, dozens of trees were downed and snapped along the highway. Based on radar, the tornado continued another 3 miles north of Highway 36, into rural areas. The general type of damage seen throughout the path of the tornado ranged from strong EF0 to weak EF1, with a max wind rating of 90mph.

An upper level system moved into north-central Texas on March 22nd. Thunderstorms began developing in the unstable warm sector ahead of a cold front moving east into east Texas and western LA. Very strong low and mid level winds ahead of the cold front brought in ample low level moisture with dewpoints reaching into the 70's near the coast. As temperatures at the surface warmed into the 80s and temps aloft dropped, the atmosphere steadily became unstable. Increasing shear combined with the very unstable atmosphere set the stage for 5 tornadoes to develop, one of them was violent, resulting in 2 fatalities.