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EF2 tornado in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana

Tornado February 7, 2017 · Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana

EF2

Rating

23.1 mi

Whole path

500 yd

Path width

Injuries

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Livingston Parish → Tangipahoa Parish → St. Tammany Parish; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 500 yards (0.28 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 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 large wedge tornado continued on an east-northeast path out of Livingston Parish. While much of the path through Tangipahoa Parish is inaccessible, video evidence shows the tornado was continuously in contact with the ground. The tornado crossed Interstate 55 near mile marker 19. In this area, it snapped an uprooted numerous trees and was approximately 500 yards wide. After crossing the interstate, the tornado continued on its east-northeast path through marshy area and moved into St. Tammany Parish. The maximum intensity in Tangipahoa Parish is estimated to be around 105 mph based on the observed tree damage.

The wider storm

Severe thunderstorms developed ahead of an approaching cold front across southeast Louisiana, southern Mississippi, and the adjacent coastal waters.

Began near Strader (30.3365, -90.4702).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF3 Orleans Parish EF3 Livingston Parish EF1 St. James Parish 1 dead EF1 Livingston Parish EF0 Jefferson Parish

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 675302. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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