EF1 Tornado — Tangipahoa, Louisiana

2024-06-04 · near Greenlaw, Tangipahoa, Louisiana

Event narrative

This EF-1 tornado touched down approximately 2 miles east of Kentwood and north of Highway 38 where a snapped pine tree was observed. The tornado continued over mostly open fields until Highway 1054 where it uprooted and snapped numerous trees. It then continued east to W Lewiston Rd where the most impressive tree damage was observed. There, almost every tree in a 300 yard swath was either snapped or uprooted. Nearby, a shed with tin roofing was ripped off and sent tin across the field to the east of the road. The tornado continued eastward across a field and inaccessible trees before making it to Gregot Rd. Here, almost every tree was either snapped, uprooted, or had large branches twisted and broken. The tornado continued to the east before it ended near R Booty Rd where snapped trees were observed. Some adjustments to the start and end points of this tornado were made after further analysis from high resolution satellite imagery. Peak wind speed estimated to be 100 mph.

Wider weather episode

The start of what would eventually be a very potent Mesoscale Convective System (MCS) began around midnight on June 4th in central Oklahoma. A cluster of thunderstorms became outflow dominant with the convection chasing the outflow boundary southeastward. The MCS had weakened quite a bit as it moved into northwest Louisiana. However, strong daytime heating and pooling moisture ahead of this was waiting for it in southeast Louisiana. Those warm temps and high dewpoints increased surface and mid level instability that would support very strong updrafts. Although shear was relatively low, it was sufficient to support severe weather. About the time the MCS reached the Mississippi River, it began to rapidly intensify into a well organized system. As it moved through the area, it produced wide spread wind damage and four tornadoes. No injuries or fatalities reported with these tornadoes.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (30.9500, -90.4700)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1193112. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.