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EF2 tornado in Rapides Parish, Louisiana

Tornado April 22, 2020 · Rapides Parish, Louisiana

EF2
Rating
9.0 mi
Path length
550 yd
Path width
1
Death
$1.0M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 550 yards (0.31 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

This tornado started near I-49 and Robinson Bridge Road, where it damaged numerous homes and trees along the road. Two mobile homes were completely destroyed, killing one individual. The tornado then moved ENE crossing Hwy 470 damaging additional homes and bringing down numerous power poles. The tornado then jogged NE crossing Hwy 71 where it produced substantial damage to the DeWitt Livestock Facility. The tornado also substantially damaged farm and equipment buildings at the LSUA Dean Lee Research Station. The tornado proceeded ENE to the Red River producing tree and power pole damage.

The wider storm

A cold front drifted into the area and stalled while multiple disturbances passed aloft. This produced multiple rounds of severe weather over multiple days.

Began near Lecompte Arpt (31.1623, -92.4582).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Rapides ParishEF2 Newton CountyEF2 Avoyelles ParishEF1 Vernon ParishEF1 Rapides ParishEF1 Rapides ParishEF1 Avoyelles ParishEF1 Acadia ParishEF1 Avoyelles Parish

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 887044. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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