EF2 Tornado — Tensas, Louisiana

2011-04-04 · near Cooter Pt, Tensas, Louisiana

Event narrative

This tornado first touched down along Highway 573 just south of Cooter Point. It tracked northeast across Highway 892 and 126 and then crossed Highway 65 a few miles northwest of St. Joseph. The tornado then crossed Lake Bruin and traveled north of that lake before crossing the southern end of Lake St. Joseph. The tornado ended as it touched the eastern bank of the river in Claiborne County, Mississippi. Numerous homes...farms and outbuildings were significantly damaged by the tornado. Much of the damage to the homes was to the roofs with many being blown off. A water treatment plant received major damage and an antebellum home also received significant damage. A grain silo received a huge dent from the tornado and an 18 wheeler was flipped over. Hundreds of trees were snapped and uprooted along the path and numerous power poles were snapped. One injury was noted northwest of St. Joseph. Maximum winds were around 125 mph.

Wider weather episode

A powerful storm system took shape across the central United States and clashed with a warm and unstable airmass. An extensive and intense squall line resulted which quickly pushed eastward across the eastern half of the country. Overall, this system produced a large severe weather outbreak and brought widespread wind damage to multiple states across the south, mid south, and southeast United States. Nearly 1500 reports of severe weather were reported, across 15 states, with the vast majority being damaging winds. Wind damage was not the only severe weather event type, large hail and tornadoes were also part of the mix. In terms of total events (severe weather reports), this outbreak is one of the largest in the United States.

Across the National Weather Service Jackson forecast area, numerous reports of down trees and power lines have been reported along with multiple reports of damaged structures. These structures were damaged by either fallen trees or intense winds. Survey teams found 5 tornadoes across the area, two of these were rated EF2. The first strong tornado moved into northwest Catahoula Parish from LaSalle Parish. The other strong tornado occurred across Tensas Parish and tracked to the MS River, crossed the river and dissipated in far northwest Claiborne County. The other three tornadoes were rated EF1. One of these occurred just north of Utica, in Hinds County, another tracked across northern Simpson County near Braxton, and the other across southeast Lincoln and southern Lawrence Counties.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.9099, -91.5102)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 282592. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.