EF2 Tornado — Rapides, Louisiana

2012-12-25 · near Lee Hgts, Rapides, Louisiana

Event narrative

A NWS survey confirmed an EF 2 tornado touched down in the woods southwest of in the town of Tioga and traveled into town. The tornado produced a damage path four to five miles long and 500 yards wide. The tornado damaged approximately 43 homes with a brick home having the roof almost totally ripped off. The tornado also damaged the Tioga Elementary School and an industrial complex along highway 167. At the school part of the roof of the gym was removed. At the industrial complex 5 18 wheeler trailers flipped over, several large overhead doors were blown in, and a large section of the metal roof was peeled off. One person was injured with very minor bumps and bruises when a mobile home rolled over.

Wider weather episode

A warm front lifted out of the Gulf of Mexico early Christmas morning with mostly small hail in storms along the boundary, however one storm did become severe. A strong cold front pushed out of Texas and across Louisiana during late Christmas morning into the afternoon with Severe Thunderstorms and Tornadoes. Strong northwest winds behind the boundary created low tides along the coast.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.3600, -92.4870)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 421974. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.