Tornadoes and Flooding in Louisiana, December 24, 2009

Cameron Parish Emergency Manager and Cameron Pilot newspaper reported a microburst caused significant damage on Channelview Road near Mutts Road in Hackberry. A vacant Hurricane Rita-damaged house and an outdoor shed were destroyed, and another shed was damaged. One house was blown off its blocks. Two houses suffered roof and siding damage.

Minor wind damage was reported in northwest Grand Chenier.

The Whiteville Tornado touched down near Interstate 49 about 2 miles southwest of the community, then moved north-northeastward. Upon reaching Parish Road 5-230, the tornado destroyed an outbuilding and blew down numerous trees along Bayou Boeuf. A home was damaged south of Highway 182 just east of Bayou Boeuf, and two mobile homes received roof damage along Sonnier Road. The tornado then struck the Resurrection Catholic Church, obliterating the building and damaging several tombstones and tombs in the nearby graveyard. A farm located just north of the church received major damage, with one large rice silo blown 50 yards southwestward into the bayou and another rice silo severely damaged. Two tractor trailers at the farm were also damaged, with one blown by the tornado into a jack-knife position, and the other having a large tree fall onto it. Continuing north-northeastward across open fields, the tornado then blew down numerous trees along WPA Road. No damage occurred for the next few miles as the tornado moved across open farmland and crossed into Avoyelles Parish.

The Atwood Acres tornado touched down near the Interstate 10 and Highway 1121 intersection just northwest of Crowley, then moved north-northeast for 7 miles before ending just east of the Schule Road/Casanova Road intersection about 2 miles east of Maxie. The tornado first knocked down a few trees at a business along Interstate 10, with one tree falling on a car. Several trees were blown down behind some homes along Highway 1121 before more trees and a fence were blown down along Hensgen Road just west of Highway 13. The tornado crossed Highway 13 and caused roof damage to a home on the east side of the highway, before moving into the Atwood Acres subdivision. Here, the tornado caused major damage to 4 well-constructed homes and minor to moderate damage to approximately 26 other homes across the eastern half of the subdivision. One brick home completely lost its roof, with four family members inside receiving cuts and bruises, and three other homes received major damage to their roofs and walls. numerous trees, fences, and power lines were also blown down, with debris littering much of the subdivision and adjacent forests. The tornado continued northeastward and damaged another home just north of the subdivision, before passing through unaccessible forested areas. Several more trees were damagd at the Ellis Road/Parish Road 4-46 intersection. Curving more northward, the tornado moved generally along and just east of Ellis Road, with one barn destroyed at the intersection with Floyd Williams Road, and one oil storage tank blown down east of the Rifle Lane intersection. The final damage noted was to more trees near the Schule Road/Casanova Road intersection.

The Whiteville Tornado moved into Avoyelles Parish from St. Landry Parish. Curving northward, the tornado caused minor damage to a home and blew down a few trees along Highway 71 south of the Hargrove Road intersection. A sheriff also witnessed the funnel crossing the highway in this area. The tornado then moved northward along Highway 1178, where it blew down two trees across the highway before dissipating.

The same supercell that produced the Whiteville Tornado spawned another tornado that touched down east of Highway 1178 and south of Highway 361. This tornado blew down several trees along Highway 361 southeast of Evergreen. Passing just to the east of the town, the tornado continued across open farmland, damaging a few trees. Curving northward, the tornado damaged a few more trees before ending south of Highway 29 about 1 mile east of the Karo community.

The same storm that produced the Atwood Acres Tornado spun out another tornado which touched down south of the Kansas Road/Schultz Road intersection about 2 miles southeast of the Judd community. In this area, the tornado blew down several trees and destroyed a small outbuilding, with debris blown into nearby fields. The tornado moved northeastward across the Thevis Road/Gumpoint Road intersection, damaging more trees, before dissipating.

Relatives of an NWS employee watched a funnel cloud pass near their home.

The same storm that produced the Atwood Acres and Judd tornadoes produced another tornado that touched down about 3 miles southwest of Richard and moved northeastward, ending just south of Richard School Road. Several trees were blown down and damaged at a farm on Cole Gully Road. A barn and adjacent mobile home were moderately damaged at the northwest corner of the Highway 367/Henry Beiber Road intersection.

After residents about 1 mile west of Iota watched a funnel cloud pass nearby, a tornado touched down about 2 miles northwest of Iota along Tulip Road. The tornado damaged the roofs of two mobile homes and destroyed a barn along Highway 91, with several trees were also blown down. A tree was broken in half and driven into the ground at Cinnamon Road and Highway 3067. Residents in the area witnessed the tornado and its associated debris cloud.

Trees wre damaged along Richard School Road about one-quarter mile west of Charlene Highway, likely from the rear flank downdraft associated with the Richard Tornado.

The same storm that produced the Atwood Acres, Judd, and South Richard tornadoes spawned a fourth tornado that touched down about one half mile west-northwest of Richard and moved northeastward through Richard, before dissipating south of Britany Highway and east of Highway 1105 about 1.5 miles north-northeast of Richard. Major tree damage occurred on the east side of the Acadian Baptist Center on Academy Road, and two homes across the street also received significant damage. The tornado then struck and damaged a home and two mobile homes on Highway 1105 just north of St. Edmund Lane, with debris blown across the highway into adjacent fields.

A nearly half-mile wide swath of wide damage occurred along St. Henry Road north of Richard. Two mobile homes suffered skirting and awning damage, while one home had shingle damage. Several fences were also blown down. All damage was in a south to north direction.

The same storm that produced the Atwood Acres, Judd, South Richard, and Richard tornadoes produced a fifth tornado that touched down about 1 mile east of the Prudhomme community and moved north-northeast. Several trees and power lines were blown down along Highway 385 before the tornado crossed into St. Landry Parish.

Fences and tree limbs were blown down around one home along Highway 95 in the southern part of the Prudhomme community.

The tornado that touched down east of Prudhomme in Acadia Parish moved into St. Landry Parish just west of Wayne Road. Moving northward just west of and along Wayne Road, a local resident watched the tornado cross his crawfish pond across the street from his home. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down, and a barn was damaged. Debris from the barn was carried across Highway 190, and the tornado dissipated just north of the highway.

The Gueydan Tornado began about 4 miles southwest of town near Ellis Bridge Road, blowing down a few trees Burnell Road and Humble Road. The tornado then moved north-northeastward causing extensive roof and siding damage to several homes just east of Highway 91 south of Gueydan. One tied-down mobile home was rolled over and completely destroyed, and another mobile home had its entire roof blown off. Trees and powerlines were also blown down in the area. The tornado then moved across Gueydan, causing intermittent damage to homes and trees along a narrow swath. One small outbuilding was blown into the water tower located in the northeast portion of town and destroyed. Continuing north-northeastward, the tornado blew down numerous trees at a farm on the southern end of JD Simon Road, and knocked down a power pole along Highway 713 west of Dallas Guidry Road. The tornado then curved northward, blowing down several tree limbs at a residence along Bill Searle Road west of Calvin Road, before dissipating. In total, approximately 50 homes were damaged by this tornado.

The same storm that produced the Atwood Acres, Judd, South Richard, Richard, and Savoy tornadoes spawned a sixth tornado that touched down near the old racetrack 1 mile northeast of Savoy. An outbuilding was damaged south of Linzay Road with debris from the building carried across fields to the northeast. Several trees were blown down or uprooted north of Linzay Road. The tornado then moved northward and crossed into extreme southeastern Evangeline Parish.

The Bunkie Record newspaper reported a tornado struck a mobile home along Highway 107 about 1 mile south-southeast of Mansura. The roof and porch of the mobile home were damaged, with debris blown up to 100 feet into a nearby pasture. Residents heard the tornado approach and pass by in just a few seconds. This tornado was spawned by the same supercell that produced the Whiteville and Evergreen tornadoes.

The tornado that formed northeast of Savoy in St. Landry Parish moved north into extreme southeastern Evangeline Parish. Several trees were blown down or uprooted as the tornado crossed Highway 95 just west of the Parish Road 1-115 intersection. Local residents in the area observed the tornado. The tornado the dissipated just north of the highway.

A relative of an NWS employee reported Highway 10 was underwater in the Plaisance community around 9 AM. An NWS employee observed water still covering portions of the roadway in the same area around 9 PM that evening.

The Bunkie Record newspaper reported flooding affected an unknown number of homes and businesses in Bunkie and Mansura. No details on if water entered the buildings or the extent of any flood damage were available.

The same storm that spawned the Gueydan tornado produced a second tornado that touched down on the north side of Bayou Queue de Tortue about 1.5 miles east of Riceville. The tornado then moved northeast and crossed Canvasback Road, before damaging a home and destroying an outbuilding on Kite Road. Several trees were also damaged along Kite Road. One tree was blown down onto Butterfly Road where the tornado crossed the roadway. The most significant damage was at a farm just west of the Butterfly Road/Highway 1115 intersection, where several outbuildings were destroyed and numerous trees blown down. Debris from the outbuildings was blown northward into fields on the west side of Highway 1115. On the east side of the highway between Leblanc Road and Butterfly Road, the tornado caused minor damage to the awning of one home, with moderate damage to the roof and porch of a second home. Debris from the porch blown into forested areas to the north of the home. The tornado then curved northward, passing just east of a home along Leblanc Road and damaging an outbuilding, before dissipating south of Highway 92.

KATC-TV and the Lafayette Daily Advertiser reported a large tree was blown down onto The Food Pantry charity located on Harmon Street in northwest Church Point, and the building was destroyed.

Straight line winds associated with a squall line blew down a large but rotten tree onto a mobile home located in the 1200 block of Lafayette Street in Scott. One person in the mobile home was killed but the other two occupants were not injured. Wind gusts were estimated between 40 to 50 mph. No other damage occurred in the area.