EF1 tornado in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana

Tornado September 3, 2011 · St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana

EF1

Rating

0.5 mi

Path length

50 yd

Path width

$10K

Damage as recorded

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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 touchdown occurred near the intersection of Pilate Lane and Bayou Road. The tornado touched down near the flood wall and moved NNE across Pilate Lane. It caused significant damage to one trailer, separating the roof from the walls. It also snapped several large tree branches, downed a wooden fence, and destroyed a wooden shed. Near Bayou Road, the tornado caused minor damage to a brick home and snapped an 18 inch diameter tree near the base. From there, the tornado continued NNE into a marshy area where damage was observed in the tree tops. Total surveyed path was roughly 0.5 miles, but the path may have been longer through the marshy area into Lake Borgne. Maximum sustained winds were estimated at 100 mph. Path width 50 yards.

The wider storm

Tropical Storm Lee initially developed as Tropical Depression Thirteen in middle Gulf of Mexico on Thursday evening September 1st. The depression moved slowly north and gradually strengthened, eventually reaching tropical storm strength just south of Louisiana coast on Friday afternoon September 2nd. Tropical Storm Lee made only slow and haltingly northward progress over the next 24 hours eventually moving onshore the Louisiana coast Saturday night, September 3rd, with a maximum sustained wind estimated around 60 mph. Lee moved slowly inland to north of Baton Rouge late Sunday September 4th, and eventually weakened to a tropical depression Sunday evening.

There was one confirmed tornado touchdown in Saint Bernard Parish resulting in $5,000 in property damage.

Began near Verret (29.8587, -89.7780).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 348880. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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