EF0 tornado in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana

An EF-0 tornado with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph rapidly developed along a line of thunderstorms, near the Tangipahoa and St. Helena Parish border. As it cross the parish line 1 mile north of Highway 1048 into a solar farm where a weak tornado debris signature became evident on KHDC. Only minor tree damage was evident along this section of Interstate 55. Additional tree damage including uproots and snapped tree tops were evident between I-55 and Hwy 51 which was collocated with a stronger tornado debris signature on KHDC. The tornado likely peaked in strength and size in this area. Thereafter, the tornado crossed the Tangipahoa River and began moving east-southeast toward LA Hwy 10. The tornado caused mostly uprooted trees and snapped large limbs off of trees along LA Hwy 10 before it dissipated just east of LA 1054.

Environmental conditions favorable for a QLCS (Quasi-Linear Convective System) tornado event developed across southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi during the afternoon and evening hours of March 11th. An upper-level storm system moving east from Texas overspread a very moist and increasingly unstable air mass in place across the region. At the same time, intense low-level wind shear and strong atmospheric spin developed as southerly winds strengthened ahead of an approaching line of storms with bowing segments.

The combination of rich Gulf moisture, strong low-level atmospheric spin, and a fast-moving line of thunderstorms created an environment supportive of embedded rotating circulations along the leading edge of the QLCS. As that line moved west to east across the local area, several rapidly developing tornadoes formed within these circulations. A total of 8 tornadoes were confirmed across southeast Louisiana, including 2 with path lengths exceeding 10 miles. Well over a dozen additional reports of damaging straight-line winds were also received.