4 tornadoes touched down in South Louisiana during stormy Saturday

Updated on Apr 17, 2018 at 10:48 PM CDT
A bolt of lightning splits the sky over the Carrollton neighborhood as the storm moves in on Saturday, April 14, 2018. (Photo by Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
A bolt of lightning splits the sky over the Carrollton neighborhood as the storm moves in on Saturday, April 14, 2018. (Photo by Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune) (Photo by Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
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Four tornadoes touched down in southern Louisiana, including two in Tangipahoa Parish, during Saturday's (April 14) severe weather, according to a National Weather Service tally released late Monday afternoon.
A fifth tornado, the strongest at an EF1, struck the nearby Ocean Springs, Miss., area.
The south Louisiana tornadoes hit within a half-hour Saturday morning and were all within the EF0 category, the weakest in strength, weather experts said. Damageincluded downed trees and blown-out windows and doors.
* At 8:13 a.m., the first tornado touched down in the Baton Rouge area, damaging several metal buildings in an "industriplex." The tornado traveled about 1.5 miles east-southeast to a point near the intersection of Stumberg Lane and Airline Highway. Trees were blown down, and the metal buildings had large doors blown in or bent, along with mostly minor roof damage, the weather service said. The tornado's width was about 50 yards, with its maximum wind speed estimated at 85 miles per hour.
* At 8:20 a.m., a "very short-lived" tornado touched down in the Easleyville area of St. Helena Parish, uprooting two large oak trees, which downed power lines. Another oak tree snapped and twisted. The tornado's 100-yard path began on Cullen Harrell Road. The tornado's width was about 20 yards, with its wind speed estimated at 75 miles per hour.
* At 8:35 a.m., a third tornado touched down in St. Helena Parish and then traveled a roughly six-mile path along La. 1048 into the Amite area of Tangipahoa Parish. The tornado, with wind speeds estimated at 85 miles per hour and a width of up to 120 yards, uprooted large pines and oaks, mostly along Arcola Road. Small canopies and trampolines were mangled, the weather service noted, before the tornado lifted near U.S. 51 at Arcola Road.
* At 8:38 a.m., another tornado struck Tangipahoa Parish, with a "narrow but linear" track starting at Interstate 55, Arcola Road exit. The tornado, which the weather service notes was "distinctly apart" from the tornado that hit just minutes earlier about a half-mile away, moved along side roads off La. 1048, causing minor damage to small pines. The tornado's 3.8-mile path ended near Russell Town Road. The weather service estimates wind speeds reached 75 miles per hour and width reached 25 yards.
About 10 hours later, at 6:19 p.m. Saturday, an EF1 tornado touched down in the St. Martin community near Ocean Springs, with an estimated width of 75 yards and a maximum wind speed of 105 miles per hour.
The tornado's 1.8-mile path ended near the intersection of Interstate 10 and Mississippi Hwy. 609.
According to the National Weather Service, the most substantial damage occurred at an Ocean Springs area strip mall, where glass windows were blown out, a portion of a roof and portion of wall were destroyed, and several cars overturned and "rolled" in the parking lot.
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