EF1 Tornado — St. Bernard, Louisiana

2011-09-03 · near Verret, St. Bernard, Louisiana

Event narrative

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.

Wider weather episode

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.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (29.8587, -89.7780)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 348880. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.