TornadoLookup

Home / Louisiana / St. James

EF1 tornado in St. James Parish, Louisiana

Tornado May 16, 2024 · St. James Parish, Louisiana

EF1
Rating
4.8 mi
Path length
120 yd
Path width
$20K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 120 yards (0.07 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

NWS Storm Survey team determined an EF-1 tornado, with a peak wind of 105 mph and a maximum width of 120 yards, impacted Romeville in St. James Parish. This tornado caused damage to the roofs of a number of mobile homes and residences. Additionally, several trees and power poles were snapped all along the path.

The wider storm

Continual progressive flow aloft coupled with unstable air ignited thunderstorms across southeastern Texas during the afternoon hours. These storms formed into a linear complex and traversed along a northward advancing warm front draped across the gulf coast. Aided by ample instability and favorable wind shear, this cluster organized into a damaging wind with embedded tornado risk across southeastern Louisiana. Multiple rounds of storms also aided in flash flooding across urbanized areas. The complex continued to dive southward, favoring the highest instability and continued in to the coastal waters off of Mississippi. This complex continued to produce strong wind gusts until it exited the coastal waters.

Began near Welcome (30.0700, -90.8900).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1185928. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.