Severe Weather in the Deep South Friday; At Least Three Tornadoes Touched Down in Louisiana

Brian Donegan
Published: May 12,2017
Severe thunderstorms producing large hail, damaging winds and a few tornadoes are expected in parts of the Southeast Friday after pounding parts of the Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas with large hail and tornadoes Thursday.
(MORE: Tornado Central)
Friday morning, a fast-developing tornado tore parts of the east Baton Rouge, Louisiana, metro area, tossing cars and damaging some buildings. The tornado was rated EF1 with winds of 90 mph and it was on the ground for roughly a half mile.
(LATEST NEWS: Tornado Damage Reported in Baton Rouge)
A second tornado touched down near Marrero in Jefferson Parish. The EF0 tornado ripped two carports from houses and blew out windows in one car.
Another EF1 tornado touched down in White Castle, Louisiana with winds of 90 mph.
A fourth tornado may have touched down in Ascension Parish, southeast of Baton Rouge, as well.
Currently, a line of thunderstorms is tracking through southern Alabama and the Florida panhandle. Some damaging winds and embedded, rain-wrapped tornadoes are possible with this line as it tracks east.
Additional storms are blossoming in eastern Louisiana and across Mississippi.

Current Radar, Watches and Warnings

Below is our latest forecast thinking on the timing and magnitude of the severe threats through Friday night.

Severe Weather Forecast

Friday Evening

• Forecast: One line of thunderstorms will continue to push east near the Gulf Coast. Behind that line, more scattered severe thunderstorms are possible through the evening in the Lower Mississippi Valley, Tennessee Valley and Piedmont of the Carolinas.
• Threats: Damaging wind gusts and large hail will be the main concerns, but a few tornadoes are possible, mainly embedded in thunderstorm lines.
• Cities: Jackson, Mississippi | Birmingham, Alabama | New Orleans

Friday Evening's Thunderstorm Forecast

While the heavy rain threat isn't widespread, parts of the Southeast, as far north as the Appalachians, may see 1 to 2 inches of rainfall where thunderstorms or thunderstorm clusters move slowly through Saturday.
Flash flood watches have also been issued in parts of West Virginia, southwest Virginia and northwest North Carolina.

Rainfall Forecast Through Friday

Storm Reports So Far

Thursday

Thursday afternoon, a tornado was reported in Rogers County, Oklahoma, as trees, homes, outbuildings and fences were damaged near the town of Owasso, located some 10 miles northeast of Tulsa.
(LATEST NEWS: Likely Tornado Damages Homes Near Owasso, Oklahoma)
Destructive hail roughly the size of softballs was reported in several locations in Oklahoma and Arkansas, including near Perkins, Oklahoma, and near Flippin, Arkansas. These were the first 4-inch-plus hailstones reported anywhere in the state of Arkansas since Apr. 9, 2015, according to NOAA/NCEI's Storm Event database.
Damage to vehicles occurred in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, northwest of Oklahoma City, in Coyle, Oklahoma, northeast of Oklahoma City, and in Omaha, Arkansas in the far northwest corner of the state.
Near Boaz, Missouri, a road was inundated in 14 inches of water. One vehicle stalled in the deep water and had to be pulled out by a reporting mobile intercept spotter.
Several spots in southeastern Kansas and southern Missouri had localized flooding problems following heavy rainfall Thursday evening. In Ellsinore, Kansas creeks creeped out of their banks into homes.

Wednesday

A few tornadoes briefly impacted portions of the Plains on Wednesday. Storm chasers spotted a tornado near Salem, Iowa, early in the afternoon.
Another short-lived tornado touched down south of Childress, Texas, near the town of Cee Vee. The same storm produced 80-mph winds and quarter-sized hail a few miles east of Childress.
Wednesday evening, a 70-mph wind gust was reported to have pushed a truck off a roadway near Pawnee, Illinois. In addition, a section of County Road E was washed out from heavy rain and flooding in Sedan, Kansas.
A brief weak tornado reportedly touched down near Washburn, Illinois, Wednesday evening, where several trees were damaged and limbs were down on two farms.

Tuesday

At least one tornado touched down in New Mexico on Tuesday afternoon. The tornado, near Clines Corners, occurred just south of Interstate 40 and uprooted several trees.

Monday

Hail as large as baseballs was reported in portions of eastern Colorado Monday afternoon. In downtown Denver, the ground was blanketed with hail as a severe thunderstorm rolled through the city.
The hail caused widespread damage to vehicles, including in Lakewood, Golden and Denver.
(LATEST NEWS: Hail, Not Snow, Hits Denver Area; Damage Reported to Cars and Buildings)
MORE: Severe Storms, Flooding Hit Plains and Midwest

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