EF2 Tornado — West Feliciana, Louisiana

2024-04-10 · near Beechwood, West Feliciana, Louisiana

Event narrative

An EF-2 tornado developed near Bains Road and Oak Grove Road from the culmination of numerous subtornadic vortices which could be evidently seen in linear swaths of tree damage extending southwestward toward US Hwy 61. The tornado continued to organize near Virginia Lane and Belmont Drive causing minor damage to a home and tree damage. Aerial drone footage in conjunction with high resolution satellite imagery and a follow up ground survey uncovered a swath of tree damage with numerous snaps and uproots west of Stirling Rd. As the tornado raced north-northeast, it quickly grew in size and strength and the most significant damage began after the tornado crossed Polk Brannon Road. Aerial drone footage denoted a large section of significant tree damage resulting in 70-80% of tree fall in a strongly convergent pattern. This is where the tornado was estimated to be at its strongest and widest. Ground survey was able to access along Spillman and Jones Vaughn Creek Road where numerous trees were snapped, large hardwood trees were uprooted, and several wooden electrical transmission poles were snapped. The damage path was measured to be around a half mile wide in this vicinity with widespread tornadic damage evident in combination with the Labarre-Bains tornado that was estimated to have crossed just to the west. Ground surveys were impeded in Spillman due to widespread tree damage from this tornado, but the prolific damage path remained between 150 and 350 yards wide as it tracked northeast along Highway 421. The complex interaction between this tornado and the Labarre-Bains tornado at the latter stage of its life likely contributed to the fluctuation in the damage path width. High resolution satellite analysis was used to provide the end point for this tornado in which the tornado finally lifted after crossing into rural parts of Wilkinson County in Mississippi.

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 → (30.8401, -91.3737)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1172705. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.