Widespread heavy rainfall and strong to severe thunderstorms affected much of southeast Louisiana over a two day period. The adverse weather was the result of a series of strong upper level disturbances moving across the lower Mississippi Valley in advance of a strong and slow southward moving cold front.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS LIX wrote it up.
Widespread heavy rainfall and strong to severe thunderstorms affected much of southeast Louisiana over a two day period. The adverse weather was the result of a series of strong upper level disturbances moving across the lower Mississippi Valley in advance of a strong and slow southward moving cold front.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS New Orleans, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 14, 2:40 AM CST, 10 hours 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA 340 AM CDT WED MAY 14 2008 .SHORT TERM... THE THING WE WILL BE LOOKING FOR TODAY WILL BE THE TRIGGER TO GET SOMETHING GOING. CONVECTION NORTH AND NW OF THE AREA TODAY IS BEING HELPED AND SUPPORTED BY MODERATE MID AND UPPER DYNAMICS AS SMALL DISTURBANCES ARE KICKED OUT OF THE SW BY A STRONG UPPER TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED UPP LOW NOW BEGINNING TO MOVE EAST OVER NEW MEXICO. THE STRONG LATE SEASON COLD FRONT HAS STALLED THIS MORNING FROM ST. LOUIS TO DALLAS TO DEL RIO. THE FRONT WILL SLOWLY SINK SE OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS THESE DISTURBANCES CONTINUE TO MOVE ALONG ITS AXIS TO THE ENE. HEATING OVER OUR AREA SHOULD BE THE MAIN TRIGGER AS WELL AS CONVERGENCE SETTING UP IN THE BL FROM MSY TO NEAR BTR AND OUTFLOWS MOVING AWAY FROM THE LARGE CONVECTIVE COMPLEXES UP NORTH. THE NEXT QUESTION WILL BE WHAT DAY WILL BE BEST FOR SEVERITY? ATTM...THE BEST ANSWER WOULD BE TODAY. THIS IS B/C WE SHOULD SEE ENOUGH HEATING TO BRING US TO OUR CONVECTIVE TEMP FOR MOST LOCATIONS ESPECIALLY OVER SE LA. WITH NO SUPPORTING DYNAMIC STRUCTURE ALOFT...TS WILL NOT HAVE AN EXTRA ADVANTAGE TO BECOME STRONGLY ENHANCED AND SO ANY TS THAT DO BECOME SEVERE SHOULD REMAIN ON THE LOW SIDE OF SEVERE CRITERIA. THE BEST AREA FOR THIS LOOKS TO BE FROM MSY TO MCB WESTWARD. THE FOCUS FOR SEVERITY WILL SHIFT A LITTLE ON THU TO BE LOCATED MAINLY OVER THE EASTERN THIRD OF THE AREA. TIMING WILL HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH THIS AND FOR BREVITY...WE WILL KEEP EVERYONE IN A SLIGHT RISK TODAY AND TOMORROW. THE MAIN CONCERN WILL BE HEAVY RAINFALL WHERE THESE LARGE CONVECTIVE COMPLEXES DEVELOP. LOOKING AT THE MOVEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT VECTORS THROUGH THU...THERE DOES NOT SEEM TO BE A LOT OF DIFFERENCE IN WHAT IS OCCURRING UP NORTH. SISTER CELLS AND MOISTURE WILL FEED INTO THE LARGER COMPLEX FROM SOUTH TO NORTH AT ROUGHLY 20KT. THE ENTIRE COMPLEX WILL MOVE ENE AT 15KT. A SLOW PROCESS OF BACKBUILDING WILL START THU AND WE COULD SEE SOME ISOLATED LOCATIONS WITH HIGH TALLIES OF RAINFALL. .LONG TERM... THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH BY FRIDAY BRINGING SOME COOL DRY AIR FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEKEND INTO NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION... OCCASIONAL MVFR CEILINGS WILL PLAGUE EACH OF THE TAF SITES TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE CHANCES FOR CONVECTION WILL BE ON THE INCREASE BY THIS AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY AT KMCB...KBTR...AND KMSY. SCATTERED CONVECTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. .MARINE... MODERATE ONSHORE FLOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY IN ADVANCE OF A COLD FRONT THAT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE COASTAL WATERS FRIDAY. MODERATE OFFSHORE FLOW WILL BRIEFLY DEVELOP IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... MCB 83 68 83 65 / 50 40 60 40 BTR 84 71 84 67 / 50 40 60 40 MSY 84 72 84 69 / 50 30 60 40 GPT 83 73 83 69 / 40 40 60 40 && .LIX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... LA...NONE. GM...NONE. MS...NONE. GM...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA 602 AM CDT WED MAY 14 2008 GMZ530-550-555-570-575-LAZ034>040-046>050-056>070-MSZ068>071-077- 080>082-141700- LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN AND LAKE MAUREPAS- COASTAL WATERS FROM THE SOUTHWEST PASS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO LOWER ATCHAFALAYA RIVER LA OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM PASCAGOULA MS TO THE SOUTHWEST PASS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM THE SOUTHWEST PASS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO LOWER ATCHAFALAYA RIVER LA FROM 20 TO 60 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM PASCAGOULA MS TO THE SOUTHWEST PASS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER FROM 20 TO 60 NM-POINTE COUPEE-WEST FELICIANA- EAST FELICIANA-ST. HELENA-TANGIPAHOA-WASHINGTON-ST. TAMMANY- IBERVILLE-WEST BATON ROUGE-EAST BATON ROUGE-ASCENSION-LIVINGSTON- ASSUMPTION-ST. JAMES-ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST-UPPER LAFOURCHE- ST. CHARLES-UPPER JEFFERSON-ORLEANS-UPPER PLAQUEMINES- UPPER ST. BERNARD-UPPER TERREBONNE-LOWER TERREBONNE- LOWER LAFOURCHE-LOWER JEFFERSON-LOWER PLAQUEMINES- LOWER ST. BERNARD-WILKINSON-AMITE-PIKE-WALTHALL-PEARL RIVER- HANCOCK-HARRISON-JACKSON- 602 AM CDT WED MAY 14 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF GULF OF MEXICO...SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN THROUGH TONIGHT. THE HAZARDS POSSIBLY ASSOCIATED WITH SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE STRONG DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...VERY HEAVY RAINFALL AND AN ISOLATED TORNADO. HIGH FLOWS AND FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI AND ATCHAFALAYA RIVERS. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST RIVER FLOOD STATEMENTS FOR UPDATED INFORMATION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. THE MAIN HAZARD EXPECTED WITH ANY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE STRONG DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND VERY HEAVY RAINFALL. HEAVY PROLONGED RAINFALL WILL BECOME AN INCREASING THREAT LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT AS CONDITIONS BEGIN TO EVOLVE FROM A SEVERE WEATHER THREAT TO MORE OF A HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBILITY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... PERSONNEL WITH PUBLIC SAFETY RESPONSIBILITIES SHOULD MONITOR FORECASTS THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. 17
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
19 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 2 heavy rain, 2 tornado, 1 flash flood, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Golfball size hail was reported at various locations along U.S. Highway 190 from Lottie to just west of Erwinville.
Hail ranging in size from golfballs to baseballs was reported near Erwinville.
Golfball size hail was reported near the intersection of Highway 61 and Highway 19.
Golfball size hail was reported in the Zachary area.
Trees and power lines were knocked down.
Trees and power lines were knocked down on the north side of Baton Rouge. Several homes and buildings were damaged by thunderstorms winds and falling trees in the community of Central.
A wind gust of 70 mph was measured near Watson. The thunderstorm winds blew down hundreds of trees and damaged over 100 homes and buildings in the Watson, Holden, and Albany areas. Areas around Watson were particularly hard hit.
Five inches of rain were measured in a one hour and twenty minutes period.
Several inches of rain flooded numerouos streets and a number of homes in the Hammond area. Fourteen people had to be rescued from the high water.
Quarter size hail was observed in the town of Pumpkin Center.
Lightning struck a house causing a fire in the attic.
Golfball size hail was observed near the campus of Southeastern Louisiana University.
Widespread street flooding resulted from four to four and a half inches of rain that fell in about an hour. A few homes experienced minor flooding in the Woodstone and Tanglewood subdivisions.
Trees were blown down near the intersection of Interstate 12 and U.S. Highway 190.
A trees was blown down.
Thunderstorm winds blew down a tree that fell on a trailer killing a man inside.
Trees were knocked down by thunderstorms winds. Two houses were damaged by falling trees.
Thunderstorm winds blew down trees. Two houses and a trailer were hit by falling trees in Houma and a house in Schriever was also damaged by a falling tree.
A tree two feet in diameter was uprooted.
Numerous trees were blown down near the town of Pumpkin Center. Some homes were damaged by falling trees.
Two pine trees were snapped by thunderstorm winds.
A few trees and numerous tree limbs were blown down.
Thunderstorm winds blew down trees and snapped basketball poles in the Turtle Creek subdivision. Trees were also blown down around Indian Village Road.
Trees were blown down in Uptown New Orleans.
Damage from the tornado largely consisted of several large pine trees snapped in half and several large oak trees uprooted. Numerous large branches were blown down. A few structures had roof damage and at least one large metal outbuilding had heavy damage.
Thunderstorm winds blew down a tree that crashed through the roof of a house causing significant damage. Two other trees on the same property also fell with one destroying a shed and the other crushing a truck.
A power pole was blown down across Causeway Boulevard near 45th Street.
Damage consisted mainly of large trees snapped in half and uprooted. A large metal building was heavily damaged. The tornado was associated with a large mesocyclone that produced a broad area of wind damage that extended from Enon to near Bogalusa. A total of 54 homes received varying degrees of damage.
Mesocyclone circulation that produced a tornado northeast of Enon continued to produce wind damage as it traveled northeast toward Bogalusa downing trees, power lines and damaging some houses and an apartment building.
Thunderstorms winds tore part of the roof off of a house and knocked down a large pine tree which severaly damaged another house.
Several trees and power lines were blown down.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind, Iberville | 2008-05-15 | 77 | Male | Mobile/Trailer Home | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Louisiana in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Louisiana, 2008Warnings in Louisiana, May 2008
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: 100793, 100795, 100796, 100792, 100794, 100797, 100798, 100806, 100799, 104496, 100802, 104495, 100805, 100807, 100808, 100809, 100810, 100811, 100812, 101635, 101636, 101637, 101638, 101639, 101640, 101643, 105236, 101641, 101644, 108785, 105235, 101642.