A Squall line moved through southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi and the adjacent coastal waters with sporadic wind damage and strong wind gusts.
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 Squall line moved through southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi and the adjacent coastal waters with sporadic wind damage and strong wind gusts.
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 Apr 30, 7:31 AM CST, 4 hours 4 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
831 AM CDT SAT APR 30 2016
...SOUNDING DISCUSSION...
THE SOUNDING THIS MORNING INDICATES A VERY WARM AND MOIST
ENVIRONMENT BELOW AN ELEVATED INVERSION AT 900 MB. ONSHORE FLOW
OFF THE GULF IS 20 TO 35 KTS JUST ABOVE THE SFC THROUGH THIS
LAYER. THE LCL IS LOW AT 400 FEET. DRIER AIR IS PRESENT ABOVE TO
ABOUT 550 MB. OVERALL PW IS ABOVE AVERAGE AT 1.43 INCHES. ANOTHER
ELEVATED INVERSION IS NEAR 630 MB... WHERE WINDS BEGIN TO TURN
MORE WESTERLY. CAPE IS RELATIVELY LONG AND SKINNY THROUGH THE
PROFILE WITH MOST UNSTABLE AT 2000 J/KG. WARM CLOUD LAYER IN A
STORM WOULD BE 14000 FT SO EFFICIENT RAINFALL PROCESSES AND FLASH
FLOODING IS A CONCERN AGAIN TODAY. SFC TO 6 KM SHEAR IS 35 KTS...
THAT IS ENOUGH FOR SEVERE WIND TO AT LEAST BE POSSIBLE WITH STORMS
AS WELL. WE EXPECT THIS ENVIRONMENT TO ALLOW THE MCS CURRENTLY AT
THE LA/MS BORDER TO CONTINUE EAST. THE SOUNDING FROM LAKE CHARLES
THIS MORNING WAS JUST AHEAD OF THE LINE. THE LCH PROFILE HAS A BIT
MORE SHEAR AND ALSO SUPPORTS MCS MAINTENANCE. ONE LAST CONCERN FOR
TODAY WOULD BE THE LINE OF STORMS SLOWING IN SOUTHEAST LA AND
TRAINING ALONG A COASTAL BOUNDARY THIS AFTERNOON... WHERE THERE
DOES APPEAR TO BE MOISTURE POOLED AT 925 MB ALONG THE NORTHSHORE AND
THE MS GULF COAST.
KRAUTMANN
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 400 AM CDT SAT APR 30 2016/
SHORT TERM...
A FEW SHOWERS HAVE STARTED TO DEVELOP OVER POINTE COUPEE AND WEST
FELICIANA PARISHES THIS MORNING AND ARE PUSHING NORTH AND EAST.
CONTINUED SHOWER DEVELOPMENT IS POSSIBLE OUT AHEAD OF A STRONG
SQUALL LINE MOVING THROUGH THE SHREVEPORT AREA AND STRETCHING TO
LUFKIN AND THEN NORTH OF HOUSTON IN EASTERN TEXAS.
OVERALL...I HAVE ELECTED NOT TO MAKE MANY CHANGES TO THE FORECAST
UPDATE SENT OUT A FEW HOURS AGO BUT THERE ARE A FEW ADDITIONS. THE
MAIN ONE IS A FLASH FLOOD WATCH ISSUANCE BEGINNING AT 12Z AND
RUNNING TO 00Z ON SUNDAY. THE CONFIDENCE LEVEL OF THE PROBABILITY
OF HEAVY RAINFALL IS HIGHER GENERALLY WEST OF I-55 AND NORTH OF
I-10 AND THEREFORE THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ADDED. OTHER
THAN THAT...INCREASED THE RAIN CHANCES TODAY A BIT MORE IN THE
EASTERN PART OF THE AREA. THE HRRR CONTINUES TO SHOW A SQUALL LINE
EXTENDING FROM THE AFOREMENTIONED LINE DEVELOPING AND MOVING
THROUGH THE AREA MUCH SOONER THAN EXPECTED AT THIS TIME LAST
NIGHT. WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR AND ADDRESS ANY CHANGES AS NEEDED
AS THE TIMING AND INTENSITY OF WHAT ULTIMATELY MOVES INTO THE AREA
IS PROVING DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE.
LONG TERM...
NEXT BEST CHANCE OF RAIN CONTINUES TO BE ON TUESDAY WITH CLEARING
AND DRYING OUT OCCURRING ON WEDNESDAY.
AVIATION...
MVFR CEILINGS ARE WIDESPREAD ACROSS THE TERMINAL AREAS THIS MORNING.
CANNOT RULE OUT CEILINGS DROPPING INTO THE UPPER END OF THE IFR
CATEGORY...BUT WINDS SHOULD REMAIN STRONG ENOUGH TO PRECLUDE
SIGNIFICANT VISIBILITY ISSUES.
MAIN FORECAST PROBLEM IS TIMING OF CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY APPROACHING
FROM THE WEST. MESOSCALE MODELING HAS SLOWED DOWN TIMING FROM WHAT
THE EVENING SHIFT WAS LOOKING AT. WILL NEED TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS ON
TIMING WITH 12Z TAF PACKAGE BASED ON LATEST MESOSCALE MODELING
SOLUTIONS. WILL TRY TO USE ABOUT A 2 HOUR WINDOW WHERE TSRA WILL BE
PREDOMINANT. BASED ON LATEST HRRR SOLUTION...CONVECTION SHOULD CLEAR
MOST OR ALL TERMINALS BY 00Z SUNDAY. LIKELY TO SEE MVFR CEILINGS
AGAIN DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS AFTER 06Z SUNDAY.
MARINE...
WILL CONTINUE EXERCISE CAUTION HEADLINES THROUGH THE DAYTIME HOURS
WHERE THEY ARE CURRENTLY IN PLACE. SHOULD SEE SOME WEAKENING OF
PRESSURE GRADIENT AFTER TODAY FOR SEVERAL DAYS. FRONT NOT LIKELY TO
PUSH THROUGH COASTAL WATERS UNTIL SOMETIME AROUND THE MIDDLE OF THE
WEEK.
DECISION SUPPORT...
DSS CODE....BLUE.
DEPLOYED...NONE.
ACTIVATION...NONE.
ACTIVITIES...MINOR RIVER FLOODING. MONITOR CONVECTIVE TRENDS.
DECISION SUPPORT SERVICES (DSS) CODE LEGEND
GREEN = NO WEATHER IMPACTS THAT REQUIRE ACTION
BLUE = LONG FUSED WATCH/WARNING/ADVISORY IN EFFECT OR HIGH
VISIBILITY EVENT
YELLOW = HEIGHTENED IMPACTS WITH SHORT FUSED WATCH/WARNING/ADVISORY
ISSUANCES; RADAR SUPPORT
ORANGE = HIGH IMPACTS - SLIGHT TO MODERATE RISK SEVERE; NEARBY
TROPICAL EVENTS; HAZMAT OR OTHER LARGE EPISODES
RED = FULL ENGAGEMENT FOR MODERATE RISK SVR AND/OR DIRECT
TROPICAL THREATS; EVENTS OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
MCB 83 68 81 67 / 90 70 70 30
BTR 82 70 84 68 / 90 50 70 30
ASD 84 68 84 67 / 60 40 60 30
MSY 83 73 82 71 / 60 50 60 30
GPT 83 72 84 67 / 60 40 60 30
PQL 84 69 83 67 / 60 40 50 30
&&
.LIX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
LA...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR LAZ034>037-039-
040-046>050-056>058-071-072.
GM...NONE.
MS...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR MSZ068>071.
GM...NONE.
&&HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA 526 AM CDT SAT APR 30 2016 GMZ530-532-534-536-538-550-552-555-557-570-572-575-577-LAZ034>037- 039-040-046>050-056>072-MSZ068>071-077-080>082-302230- LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN AND LAKE MAUREPAS-MISSISSIPPI SOUND- LAKE BORGNE-CHANDELEUR SOUND-BRETON SOUND- COASTAL WATERS FROM PORT FOURCHON LA TO LOWER ATCHAFALAYA RIVER LA OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM THE SOUTHWEST PASS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO PORT FOURCHON LOUISIANA OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM BOOTHVILLE LA TO SOUTHWEST PASS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM PASCAGOULA MISSISSIPPI TO STAKE ISLAND OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM PORT FOURCHON LOUISIANA TO LOWER ATCHAFALAYA RIVER LA FROM 20 TO 60 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM SOUTHWEST PASS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO PORT FOURCHON LOUISIANA FROM 20 TO 60 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM STAKE ISLAND LA TO SOUTHWEST PASS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER FROM 20 TO 60 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM PASCAGOULA MISSISSIPPI TO STAKE ISLAND LOUISIANA OUT 20 TO 60 NM-POINTE COUPEE-WEST FELICIANA- EAST FELICIANA-ST. HELENA-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-NORTHERN TANGIPAHOA- SOUTHERN TANGIPAHOA-WILKINSON-AMITE-PIKE-WALTHALL-PEARL RIVER- HANCOCK-HARRISON-JACKSON- 526 AM CDT SAT APR 30 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA...SOUTH MISSISSIPPI AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THERE WILL BE A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS ALL OF SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI LATE THIS MORNING AND THIS AFTERNOON. A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS WESTERN LOUISIANA EARLY THIS MORNING WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA LATE THIS MORNING AND THIS AFTERNOON. DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS...BUT ISOLATED TORNADOES CANNOT BE RULED OUT. IN ADDITION...HEAVY RAINFALL IS LIKELY TO ACCOMPANY THE THUNDERSTORMS...ESPECIALLY OVER SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA WEST OF THE PEARL RIVER AND NORTH OF A SLIDELL TO DONALDSONVILLE LINE. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH WILL BE IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT FOR THIS AREA. RAIN AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS WHERE REPEAT THUNDERSTORMS OCCUR. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE MOST NUMEROUS ON SUNDAY AND TUESDAY. THERE IS A MARGINAL RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS NORTHWEST OF A SLIDELL TO HOUMA LINE ON SUNDAY. DAMAGING WINDS WOULD BE THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE STORMS. HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THE STORMS SUNDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY LATE THIS MORNING AND THIS AFTERNOON.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
New Roads Fals River Regional Airport reported a wind gust of 58 mph.
Large tree limbs were downed near the intersection of Naomi Harris Rd and Wax Rd. Report relayed via social media. Time estimated from radar.
A large tree was downed on Wax Rd.
A tree fell on a house in the 24000 block of Walker South Rd.
A wind gust of 60 mph was reported 1 mile north of I-12 at Hwy 447.
Lightning struck a home leaving a large hole in the roof.
A large house under construction along Lakeshore Drive partially collapsed. In addition, multiple tree limbs along Lakeshore Drive and Carroll Street were brought down by wind. Storm survey determined damage was caused by wind gusts. Damage cost estimated.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Louisiana in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Louisiana, April 2016
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: 631272, 631269, 631270, 631271, 631273, 631268, 681001.