A supercell thunderstorm, or a thunderstorm that is rotating, developed over Ramah, LA yesterday. A tornado watch was issued by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) and numerous tornado warnings were issued as well for this storm.
The storm tracked just south of Baton Rouge over Plaquemine to Saint Gabriel to Prairieville and Gonzales. It didn't produce a tornado around the Baton Rouge area, but did produce winds around 60-70 mph. The only damage we could find were some downed trees and branches around Saint Gabriel, LA. Meteorologist Ryan Davidson was there when it traveled over him. The National Weather Service (NWS) will survey this area later today to see if it was straight-line winds or a possible tornado that caused this damage.
The storm continued down I-10 toward New Orleans and got stronger as it approached LaPlace, but still did not produce a tornado - even though the rotation was pretty strong.
Once the storm arrived in Kenner it looked incredibly impressive on radar as a classic supercell with a hook echo (radar image on left). The rotation was very strong with about 90-100+ kt. gate to gate shear (Velocity image on right). These images were screen grabbed right after it passed over Kenner and was headed into Metairie:
It finally produced a tornado over Kenner and did some damage there. It tracked east toward Metairie and also did some minor damage there. Take a look at this picture sent by a viewer into WDSU-TV:
While this storm did produce a tornado, the damage was not as bad as it could have been. The way it looked on radar I would have thought it produced some major damage. We are very thankful that, that didn't happen.
This tornado was rated an EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale in Kenner and an EF-0 in Metairie according to the NWS Office in Slidell, LA. This office serves the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas. Click here to read their report.
Remember, when we are on air saying there is a tornado warning take shelter IMMEDIATELY! A rotating thunderstorm can produce a tornado at any time, but sometimes they don't. You have to assume that it will and take your tornado precautions!
Always keep it tuned to WBRZ, BRZ Weather Channel, my Facebook and Twitter feeds for severe weather information! -Dave
The storm tracked just south of Baton Rouge over Plaquemine to Saint Gabriel to Prairieville and Gonzales. It didn't produce a tornado around the Baton Rouge area, but did produce winds around 60-70 mph. The only damage we could find were some downed trees and branches around Saint Gabriel, LA. Meteorologist Ryan Davidson was there when it traveled over him. The National Weather Service (NWS) will survey this area later today to see if it was straight-line winds or a possible tornado that caused this damage.
The storm continued down I-10 toward New Orleans and got stronger as it approached LaPlace, but still did not produce a tornado - even though the rotation was pretty strong.
Once the storm arrived in Kenner it looked incredibly impressive on radar as a classic supercell with a hook echo (radar image on left). The rotation was very strong with about 90-100+ kt. gate to gate shear (Velocity image on right). These images were screen grabbed right after it passed over Kenner and was headed into Metairie:
It finally produced a tornado over Kenner and did some damage there. It tracked east toward Metairie and also did some minor damage there. Take a look at this picture sent by a viewer into WDSU-TV:
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| Loyola Ave. near I-10 in Kenner, LA (Courtesy: WDSU-TV) |
While this storm did produce a tornado, the damage was not as bad as it could have been. The way it looked on radar I would have thought it produced some major damage. We are very thankful that, that didn't happen.
This tornado was rated an EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale in Kenner and an EF-0 in Metairie according to the NWS Office in Slidell, LA. This office serves the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas. Click here to read their report.
Remember, when we are on air saying there is a tornado warning take shelter IMMEDIATELY! A rotating thunderstorm can produce a tornado at any time, but sometimes they don't. You have to assume that it will and take your tornado precautions!
Always keep it tuned to WBRZ, BRZ Weather Channel, my Facebook and Twitter feeds for severe weather information! -Dave
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