EF0 Tornado — Pointe Coupee, Louisiana

2024-12-28 · near New California, Pointe Coupee, Louisiana

Event narrative

An EF-0 tornado developed within a line of severe thunderstorms just west of LA Highway 418 and rapidly moved east across largely inaccessible rural areas of Pointe Coupee Parish. High resolution satellite imagery showed clear evidence of tree damage in patches along its path. This tree damage coincided well with a tornado debris signature visible from the V018 Climavision radar in West Feliciana Parish. As the tornado crossed LA Highway 1 it appears to have turned more to the southeast in a complex interaction with another embedded circulation within the line per Climavision radar and then lifted. No additional damage could be identified beyond this point although given the rural landscape there was not much for it to hit before reaching the Raccourci Old River.

Wider weather episode

On December 28, 2024, a potent storm system traversed the southeastern United States, significantly impacting southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, and adjacent coastal waters. The Storm Prediction Center had issued a moderate risk (level 4 out of 5) for severe weather in these areas, anticipating the development of supercell and QLCS thunderstorms capable of producing strong tornadoes and damaging wind gusts. Meteorologically, a pronounced shortwave trough advanced eastward, interacting with a moist and unstable air mass characterized by surface dew points in the upper 60s to lower 70s Fahrenheit. This setup resulted in high convective available potential energy (CAPE) values between 1500 and 2000 J/kg and substantial low-level wind shear, fostering an environment conducive to severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Throughout the day and into the evening, multiple tornadoes were reported across the region, leading to significant structural damage, particularly in parts of southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi. In addition to tornadoes, these storms produced straight-line winds exceeding 70 mph, causing widespread power outages and hazardous conditions on both land and coastal waters. The severe weather threat persisted into the night as the storm system continued its eastward progression.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (30.8500, -91.7000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1228616. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.