EF1 tornado in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana

A combination of high resolution satellite imagery, ground survey, and radar imagery has aided in the confirmation of a tornado that tracked across Alton and northwest parts of Slidell on the morning of April 10, 2024. This tornado touched down just south of Interstate 12 near Ben Thomas Road and tracked northeast. The tornado crossed Interstate 12 just west of US Highway 11 where the tornado was observed via video confirmation and ground survey of a couple of snapped trees. Additional roof damage to structures near Brownsvillage Rd and J.F. Smith Ave were identified via ground survey and high resolution satellite imagery with debris tossed northward into the nearby fields. Sporadic tree damage continued northeast with more widespread tree damage being identified around Alton Elementary School. The tornado then crossed US Highway 11 where more tree damage was identified along Highway 1091. Damage became more sporadic and the end point of this tornado is harder to discern due to the beginning of a stronger and larger tornado that crossed nearby this area thereafter. The tornado was rated as an EF-1 with peak winds of 95 mph, a maximum width of 200 yards, and path length of almost 5 miles.

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.