EF1 Tornado — West Feliciana, Louisiana

2024-04-10 · near St Francisville, West Feliciana, Louisiana

Event narrative

A strong and long-lived tornado entered West Feliciana Parish from Pointe Coupee Parish near the Cat Island Refuge. A combination of in person and NDVI differencing on satellite data was used to survey this tornado. The tree and powerline damage became increasingly more widespread and intense as the tornado crossed Levee Road and the Mississippi River. High resolution satellite imagery identified a focused swath of tree damage (snaps and uproots) roughly 200 yards in width that continued northeast through the Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge up through US Highway 61. Tree damage was observed on Highway 61 with another large swath of tree damage further northeast on Bains Road. Due to the heavily wooded and rural areas, ground surveys were impeded in identifying parts of this track as it continued northeast. Only patches of tree damage was observed in high resolution and identified in a follow up storm survey across Pepper Drive. At this time, a complex handoff to a new stronger tornado (Bains-Spillman) was underway to this tornado's east. The only apparent indication that this tornado damage path continued was difference in damage orientation on the western flank of the broader damage path as it crossed Spillman Road and a separate NDVI damage path was noted west of the new tornado damage path to the east. The exact end point of this tornado was particularly difficult to determine as it interacted and potentially merged with the tornado to its east. The peak winds during its track were approximately 110 mph, EF-1.

Wider weather episode

A strong upper level disturbance, surface low, and cold front produced a line of severe thunderstorms that pushed across Southeast Louisiana and Southern Mississippi in the morning and early afternoon hours of Wednesday, April 10, 2024. The line of severe thunderstorms produced strong straight line winds, extensive flash flooding in the New Orleans metro area and several tornadoes. The strongest tornado was an EF-2 tornado that impacted the city of Slidell in St. Tammany Parish, LA on the morning of the 10th. 7 tornadoes have been confirmed from this event. 4 of those 7 touched down and tracked across just the city of Slidell. At one point, as many as 3 of those 7 were on the ground at the same time. These tornadoes have been determined to range in strength from EFU to EF2 after NWS storm surveys and high resolution satellite analysis were conducted.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (30.7391, -91.5117)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1172683. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.