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EF1 tornado in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana

Tornado May 13, 2024 · Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana

EF1

Rating

9.9 mi

Whole path

300 yd

Path width

$400K

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Calcasieu Parish → Calcasieu Parish; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

An EF-1 tornado touched down in Westlake, causing roof and exterior wall damage to several homes and businesses. The tornado crossed I-10 into downtown Lake Charles, where it caused additional roof damage to a business. Along the path, trees and power lines were also downed. A semi trailer truck was overturned on the top of the Interstate 10/Calcasieu River Bridge where the tornado passed. Max estimated winds were 100 mph.

The wider storm

Multiple upper disturbances moved across the region from the 12th through the 16th causing a rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms which produced numerous reports of damage, flooding, and high winds.

Began near Westlake (30.2508, -93.2794).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF2 St. Martin Parish

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1184461. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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