EF0 tornado in Washington Parish, Louisiana

An NWS ground survey confirmed an EF-0 tornado with maximum sustained winds estimated near 85 mph tracked across parts of southwest and central Washington Parish, south of Franklinton, LA. This tornado began near Sam Smith Rd where it snapped a rotted large hardwood tree. Additional tree debris and minor damage to skirting of a manufactured home was noted nearby. The tornado continued east-northeast where more abundant tree damage was identified including snaps of smaller tree trunks and branches along Daniels Rd, west of LA Hwy 25. This was where the tornado appeared to be at its strongest and widest, spanning about 75 yards wide. The tornado continued across the Bogue Chitto River, and additional minor tree damage was found by the survey team along LA Hwy 16, Tullos Rd, and Gene Williams Rd. Near Lee Rd and Thigpen Rd was where the last area of more concentrated minor tree damage was noted and this was the estimated end point of this tornado damage path. No additional damage was identified on Moore Rd nor LA Hwy 439, however, minor sporadic tree damage did continue farther east, north of Bogalusa, LA.

A line of strong to severe thunderstorms developed during the evening of February 14, 2026, ahead of a cold front and moved eastward across southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi overnight, maintaining organization as a QLCS with embedded circulations. The environment featured a moist and unstable airmass with increasing low-level shear, supporting the development of multiple brief tornadoes and widespread damaging winds. The first impacts occurred across southwest Mississippi late in the evening where several EF-1 tornadoes caused numerous snapped and uprooted trees, downed powerlines, and minor structural damage. As the line progressed into southeast Louisiana between late evening and the early overnight hours, additional EF-0 and EF-1 tornadoes were confirmed across East Feliciana, Ascension, St. James, Tangipahoa, Washington, Lafourche, and St. Tammany Parishes, generally producing tree damage with localized impacts to homes and infrastructure, including roof damage, a flipped RV, and snapped power poles. Widespread straight-line winds accompanied the convective line, with gusts frequently reaching 50 to 60 mph, resulting in numerous reports of downed trees, broken limbs, minor structural damage, and isolated industrial impacts, including damage to a fiberglass cooling tower in Ascension Parish. The line continued east into coastal Mississippi during the early morning hours of February 15, producing additional brief tornadoes and wind damage, while marine observations across adjacent coastal waters recorded thunderstorm wind gusts generally between 35 and 45 knots with isolated higher values.