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EF2 tornado in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana

Tornado February 13, 2007 · Jefferson Parish, Louisiana

EF2

Rating

2.2 mi

Path length

50 yd

Path width

Injuries

$2.0M

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

NOAA recorded where this tornado touched down but not where it lifted, so it appears as a point. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A tornado moved along a northerly path from Lapalco Boulevard to the Mississippi River roughly following Avenue C and Avenue D. Significant damage was observed to residential and commercial structures that indicated an intensity in the mid to upper range of an EF 2 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita Scale with winds estimated to be in the 125-130 mph range. Some of the most impressive structural damage observed was to an older, two story motel building which had its roof removed and a portion of the second floor walls caved in. The tornado crossed the Mississippi River into Orleans Parish.

The wider storm

Isolated supercell thunderstorms developed in the early morning hours over sections of southeast Louisiana well in advance of a squall line associated with a strong upper air storm system and cold front moving through the lower Mississippi Valley. These rogue rotating supercell storms produced tornadoes as well as large hail and isolated wind damage. A tornado in Jefferson Parish destroyed 23 houses and damaged 231 others. Tornadoes in Orleans Parish destroyed 32 houses and damaged 295 others.

Began near Westwego (29.9000, -90.1300).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

2 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF2 Orleans Parish 1 dead EF2 Orleans Parish

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 16781. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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