A weak cold front aided the development of a severe thunderstorm over Southeast Louisiana.
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.
A weak cold front aided the development of a severe thunderstorm over Southeast Louisiana.
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 15, 3:10 AM CST, 3 hours 1 minute earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA 410 AM CDT SAT MAY 15 2010 .SYNOPSIS... SURFACE LOW IS CENTERED OVER MAINE WITH A COLD FRONT EXTENDING SOUTHWEST THROUGH THE APPALACHIANS AND BACK INTO CENTRAL ARKANSAS AND CENTRAL TEXAS. WIDESPREAD CONVECTION IS PRESENT OVER TEXAS... EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND ARKANSAS. THERE IS ALSO A QUASI-LINEAR CONVECTIVE FEATURE MOVING INTO WESTERN LOUISIANA. && .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH MONDAY A MORE ACTIVE/WETTER PATTERN IS TAKING SHAPE AS THE MID/UPPER HIGH...THAT HAS BEEN STEERING WEATHER SYSTEMS WEST AND NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA...IS FLATTENING OUT AND MOVING EAST. THIS IS ALLOWING NUMEROUS SHORTWAVE TROUGHS...ASSOCIATED WITH A WESTERN CONUS/ NORTHWEST MEXICO TROUGH...TO MOVE ACROSS TEXAS AND THE NORTHWEST GULF OF MEXICO. THE FIRST SHORTWAVE IS MOVING ALONG THE LOUISIANA COAST WITH A VERY COMPLICATED SERIES OF BOTH LARGER SCALE SYNOPTIC WAVES MIXED WITH MORE MESOSCALE FEATURES BACK TO THE WEST. LOW LEVEL WIND CONVERGENCE IS INTERACTING WITH THE INITIAL UPPER FEATURE TO PRODUCE AREAS OF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ALONG THE SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA COAST AND COASTAL WATERS NEAR AND SOUTH OF TERREBONNE BAY AND OVER THE OFFSHORE WATERS OF THE NORTH CENTRAL GULF. MODEL AND SATELLITE DATA ALL POINT TO A RAMPING UP OF THE POPS TODAY...AND HAVE FOLLOWED SUIT WITH LIKELY TO CATEGORICAL WORDING OVER MOST OF THE AREA...EXCEPT HIGH END CHANCE OVER THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST. MOISTURE WILL BE INCREASING THROUGH THE AIR COLUMN WHICH WILL ALSO ADD TO THE INSTABILITY. UPPER DIVERGENCE WILL ALSO ADD TO THE LARGER SCALE LIFT TODAY. AM NOT EXPECTING SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HOWEVER...A FEW STRONGER STORMS PRODUCING FREQUENT LIGHTNING...BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL...AND GUST WINDS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY. THE GFS APPEARS TO CARRY TOO MUCH RAINFALL AND TOO HIGH POPS INTO TONIGHT OVER THE WEST...BUT HAVE GONE WITH SOME HIGHER POPS IN THE EAST WHERE AFTERNOON ACTIVITY WILL SPILL OVER INTO THE EVENING. SUNDAY SHOULD BE ANOTHER ACTIVE DAY WITH HIGH CHANCES OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AREAWIDE AS SHORTWAVE ENERGY INTERACTS WITH HIGH PRECIPITABLE WATER OVER THE REGION. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE. A WEAK FRONTAL SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO MAINLY THE INLAND PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA MONDAY OR MONDAY NIGHT AS THE MAIN MID/UPPER TROUGH MOVES EAST ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. THERE WILL BE A CONTINUED CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY...BUT NOT AS HIGH A POP AS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. && .LONG TERM... THE STALLED FRONT IS FORECAST TO BEGIN WASHING OUT TUESDAY AS IT REMAINS IN PLACE NEAR THE NORTHERN GULF COAST. WITH ONLY WEAK FORCING IN PLACE...WILL CONTINUE TO CARRY ONLY SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FOR TUESDAY. BY WEDNESDAY...A SECONDARY MID AND UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE IMPULSE IS FORECAST TO MOVE THROUGH THE AREA. WITH THE ADDITIONAL DYNAMIC SUPPORT...HAVE DECIDED TO INCREASE POPS SLIGHTLY TO AROUND 30 PERCENT FOR WEDNESDAY. BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF KEEP THE HEAVIEST RAIN WELL TO THE NORTH AND WEST OF THE LOCAL FORECAST AREA. HOWEVER...DEPENDING ON HOW FAST MOISTURE RETURNS TO THE AREA...A FEW THUNDERSTORMS COULD BE EFFICIENT RAIN MAKERS THAT PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. THURSDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND...THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE IS FORECAST TO BUILD INTO THE AREA. THIS SHOULD KEEP POPS DOWN BELOW NORMAL. HOWEVER...WITH AMPLE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IN PLACE AND SOME UNCERTAINTY IN HOW STRONG THAT UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL BE...WILL CONTINUE TO CARRY SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FOR MOST AFTERNOONS THROUGH THE WEEKEND. && .AVIATION... LIFR CONDITIONS HAVE DEVELOPED AT KMCB AGAIN IN THE LAST HOUR...AND THESE CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY TO PERSIST THROUGH 13Z BEFORE IMPROVEMENT TO MVFR AROUND 14Z. ELSEWHERE...MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS WILL BECOME MVFR MAINLY DUE TO CIGS BY 14Z...THEN MOSTLY IMPROVE BACK TO VFR AGAIN AFTER 16Z...HOWEVER...THERE WILL BE TEMPO MVFR CONDITIONS IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING...PARTICULARLY DURING THE SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHRA/TSRA THAT ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN THE WESTERN TERMINALS AND SPREAD EAST. LOCALIZED/BRIEF IFR CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE DURING ANY HEAVIER TSRA. && .MARINE... A RELATIVELY TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT BETWEEN A SURFACE HIGH CENTERED EAST OF FLORIDA AND A SURFACE LOW CENTERED TO THE WEST OF THE AREA WILL CONTINUE TO RESULT IN PERSISTENT SOUTHEAST WINDS GENERALLY 10 TO 15 KNOTS FOR THE NEXT FEW PERIODS. THE HIGH IS FORECAST TO BREAK DOWN SLIGHTLY SUNDAY...WHICH WILL ALLOW A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY TO SLIDE SOUTHWARD INTO THE REGION. THE FRONT IS FORECAST TO STALL JUST SHORT OF THE COAST. THIS WILL RESULT IN LIGHT WINDS AND AT LEAST A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY UNTIL THE FRONT WASHES OUT TOWARD THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK. EXPECT THE BEST CHANCE OF RAIN TO BE TODAY AND SUNDAY AS THE FRONT MOVES INTO THE AREA. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... MCB 84 68 81 66 / 60 40 70 30 BTR 86 70 84 69 / 80 30 70 30 ASD 84 71 80 68 / 60 50 80 30 MSY 83 72 82 70 / 70 50 80 30 GPT 83 71 80 70 / 50 60 80 30 PQL 85 70 82 69 / 40 60 80 30 && .LIX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... LA...NONE. MS...NONE. GM...NONE. && SHORT/AVIATION...22/TD SYNOPSIS/LONG/MARINE...95/DM
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA 237 AM CDT SAT MAY 15 2010 GMZ530-550-555-570-575-LAZ034>040-046>050-056>070-MSZ068>071-077- 080>082-151800- 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- 237 AM CDT SAT MAY 15 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF COASTAL WATERS OF SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI...SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED TO OCCASIONALLY NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED MAINLY LATE THIS MORNING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED BUT SOME STORMS MAY BECOME STRONG WITH WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH IN SQUALLS...OCCASIONAL TO FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. ORGANIZED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED HOWEVER. THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AT RED RIVER LANDING IS EXPECTED TO RISE ABOVE FLOOD STATE SUNDAY AND CREST WEDNESDAY. THE ATCHAFALAYA RIVER AT MORGAN CITY IS ALSO ABOVE FLOOD STAGE. REFER TO THE LATEST RIVER FLOOD STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. 24/RR
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
EF0 tornado confirmed by NWS storm survey. Damage to a mobile home was in Lucy on River Road. There were no injuries outside of cuts from flying debris. Tornado path was 100 yards long and 50 feet wide.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Louisiana in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Louisiana, 2010Warnings in Louisiana, May 2010
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: 226253.