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EF1 tornado in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana

Tornado April 22, 2020 · Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana

EF1

Rating

11.6 mi

Whole path

1,200 yd

Path width

$115K

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Catahoula Parish → Avoyelles Parish → Catahoula Parish → Avoyelles Parish → Catahoula Parish → Catahoula Parish → Concordia Parish; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 1,200 yards (0.68 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

The tornado traveled along the winding parish boundaries of Catahoula and Avoyelles Parishes. After traveling from Catahoula Parish then into Avoyelles and back again, the tornado entered Avoyelles Parish for a second time. The tornado crossed the Lake Ophelia National Wildlife Refuge before crossing back into Catahoula Parish. The max estimated wind speed was 110 mph.

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 Vick (31.2493, -91.9374).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Rapides Parish 1 dead EF2 Rapides Parish EF2 Newton County EF2 Avoyelles Parish EF1 Vernon Parish EF1 Rapides Parish EF1 Rapides Parish EF1 Avoyelles Parish EF1 Acadia Parish

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 887861. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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