Waterspout — Lake Ponchartrain and Lake Maurepas, Gulf of Mexico

2025-10-06 · near Mandeville Lakefront - Xmvl Weatherflow, Lake Ponchartrain and Lake Maurepas, Gulf of Mexico

Event narrative

A photographer filmed a waterspout over Lake Pontchartrain just east of the Causeway Bridge a few miles south of Mandeville. Drone footage was key to confirming that this in fact a waterspout and not just a funnel.

Wider weather episode

A small mid-level impulse moving through a moist and weakly forced environment supported the development of several mini tropical-like supercells across southeast Louisiana during the late evening of October 5th into the early morning hours of October 6th. These storms produced several tornadoes, including an EF-0 tornado over marshland near Blind River in Livingston Parish and multiple tornadoes across Tangipahoa Parish, where the strongest reached EF-1 intensity and caused tree damage and localized roof damage. Some tornado tracks were verified using high-resolution satellite imagery in areas with limited ground access, and weak but coherent tornado debris signatures were observed on radar. Later in the morning, convection moved across Lake Pontchartrain where a waterspout was observed and confirmed just east of the Causeway Bridge using photographic and drone footage.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (30.3000, -90.1000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1297805. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.