EF1 Tornado — Ascension, Louisiana

2025-03-04 · near Aben, Ascension, Louisiana

Event narrative

A brief EF1 tornado with max wind speeds of 90 MPH touched down just east of Donaldsonville near the intersection of Gautreau Road and LA Hwy 18. A few trees were damaged and an outbuilding was visibly destroyed. The tornado then crossed the Mississippi and damaged four well-built, newer homes. Approximately 20% of each roof was damaged, removed or peeled back. Large front porch pillars were moved or ripped away although none appeared to have been anchored to the concrete and on a few deck screws used to secure the tops of them. Fences were damaged and one garage door blown in. Splatter on the east-northeast sides of the homes was noted as well as multiple pieces of wood embedded into the ground.

Wider weather episode

The first of 2 surface lows moved into the Red River Valley which drew a stalled frontal boundary over the northern Gulf northward as a warm front in the morning hours. Doing so brought fast warming trend along with a definite moisture increase. Instability in that warm sector was further enhanced by daytime heating. Every severe weather parameter was moderate to high with this system, so there is not surprising to have widespread reports of wind, hail, and multiple tornadoes.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (30.1000, -90.9700)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1245962. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.