EF2 tornado in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana

The National Weather Service conducted a storm survey in Natchitoches Parish and found evidence of an EF2 tornado. Maximum winds are estimated at 110-120 mph in the tornado. The tornado first touched down north of Flora along Hwy. 120 and headed north east snapping and uprooting trees. The tornado crossed and eventually paralleled Hwy. 478 just south of Natchitoches snapping trees and powerlines and knocking a tree into a brick home. The tornado knocked down powerlines onto Hwy. 1 and ripped up trees eastward along Lateral Road where one mobile home was moderately damaged by falling trees. The tornado weakened slightly as it crossed the Cane River and knocked over a few trees. The track continued eastward across the Red River into Winn Parish near the intersection of Hwy 71 and 477.

A very volatile atmosphere developed during the late afternoon...evening and overnight hours of April 26th across the Four State Region. An area of low pressure moved from the Texas Hill Country into Northeast Texas during the afternoon. Meanwhile, a warm front had moved northward from central Louisiana and was oriented west to east near the Arkansas/Louisiana state line. A dry line had moved just east of the I-35 corridor of North Central Texas and a strong cold front trailed the dry line. Very strong speed and directional shear was noted in the low and mid levels of the atmosphere such that supercells developed. Many of these produced tornadoes across the region. Other storms produced strong straight line wind gusts with bowing segments and large hail.