EF1 tornado in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana

Tornado February 23, 2016 · St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana

EF1

Rating

3.1 mi

Path length

250 yd

Path width

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 250 yards (0.14 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 tornadic waterspout spawned from the same parent supercell as the Assumption/St. James tornado moved on shore from Lake Maurepas near Akers. It snapped numerous cyprus trees before moving into Lake Pontchartrain.

The wider storm

A strong cold front moved through the lower Mississippi Valley. Ahead of the front, widespread severe weather moved through Southeast Louisiana and Southern Mississippi during the morning and afternoon hours of February 23rd. A total of 13 tornadoes occurred in Southeast Louisiana and Southern Mississippi, 3 of which were classified as strong.

Began near Ruddock (30.2195, -90.4354).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

10 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF3 St. James Parish 2 dead EF2 Livingston Parish EF2 St. John the Baptist Parish EF0 Jefferson Parish EF0 Ascension Parish EF0 St. Helena Parish EF0 St. Tammany Parish EF0 Iberville Parish EF0 Iberville Parish EF0 St. Tammany Parish

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 617686. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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