Tornado, Iberville
- When
- May 24, 9:15 AM CST
- Where
- Iberville County, White Castle
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.6 mi
- Path width
- 20 yd
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 30.170, -91.150
Tornado and Flood in Louisiana, May 24, 1997
A line of thunderstorm moved across southeast Louisiana. A weak tornado touched down briefly in White Castle.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 3
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS LIX wrote it up.
A line of thunderstorm moved across southeast Louisiana. A weak tornado touched down briefly in White Castle. A mobile home and 12 houses suffered minor damage. Heavy rain brought street flooding to several communities in St. James Parish. In Waggaman, gusty winds, less than 58 mph, overturned an inflatable carnival amusement ride. Three children were injured when it overturned.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 tornado, 1 flood, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, St. James
- When
- May 24, 1:15 PM CST
- Where
- St. James County, Vacherie
- Coordinates
- 30.026, -90.796 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Jefferson
- When
- May 24, 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Jefferson County, Waggaman
- Injuries
- 3 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 29.681, -90.098 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
- Strong Wind
- Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Nebraska, May 24 to 26, 1997
- Flash Flood in Wyoming, May 24, 1997
- Flood in Kansas, May 24, 1997
- Hail in Wyoming, May 24, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Texas, May 24, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Texas, May 24, 1997
- Hail in Texas, May 24, 1997
- Hail and Lightning Strikes in Oklahoma, May 24 to 25, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, May 24, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 24, 1997
- Hail in Texas, May 24, 1997
- Hail in Wyoming, May 24, 1997
More
Every storm in Louisiana in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Louisiana, 1997Warnings in Louisiana, May 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5602249, 5602250, 5602251.