Tornadoes · United States · Louisiana · 2024
EF1 tornado, Union Hill, Louisiana, May 30, 2024
This EF1 tornado ran 4.1 miles across Rapides Parish on May 30, 2024, touching down at 9:16 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $20,000 of property damage.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 mph
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
EF3136 to 165 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
EF5over 200 mph
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The record
- Rating
- EF1
- Date
- May 30, 2024
- Touchdown
- 9:16 PM CDT (02:16 UTC)
- Lifted
- 9:22 PM CDT (02:22 UTC)
- On the ground
- 6 minutes
- Path length
- 4.1 miles (6.6 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $20,000
- County
- Rapides Parish
- Touchdown point
- 30.965, -92.801
- Lift-off point
- 30.987, -92.736
- Record number
- 2405302016-01
The damage survey
26 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS LCH, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 100 mph.
- Pine tree branches snapped.
- Aluminum roof of single wide manufactured home peeled back but not removed.
- Partial removal of aluminum roof of mobile home.
- Trunk of softwood tree snapped. Tree fell to south?
Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.
What the Weather Service recorded
Short waves traversed the region during the afternoons at the end of May. This occurred while the area was at peak afternoon heating each day which set the stage for severe thunderstorms to develop.
The tornado began just west of Highway 462 and north of Jim Thompson Road near Westport. The tornado produced scattered tree damage before crossing Freedom Road. It travelled across a forested area before crossing Doshie Road where more trees were snapped and uprooted. From there the tornado travelled northwest crossing Mitch Johnson road and Highway 112. The tornado snapped and uprooted several trees along Hwy 112. One of these trees fell on the roof of a single family home. The tornado then continued into a forested area east of Highway 112 where it dissipated.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
4 minutes of warning. NWS LCH issued a tornado warning for this county at 02:12 UTC, 4 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:45 UTC.
The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 01:53 UTC and running to 03:52 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01:53 UTC | 03:52 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | LCH |
| 01:58 UTC | 03:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH |
| 02:12 UTC | 02:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | LCH |
| 02:19 UTC | 02:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | LCH |
| 02:56 UTC | 04:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LCH |
Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.
The forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 00:51 UTC.
SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.
The air that afternoon
The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.
Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), 00:00Z
2.3 hours before the tornado, 104 km from the path. May 31, 2024.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2455 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -3 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 4334 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 990 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 9 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 21 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 81 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.3
- Supercell composite
- 2.6
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.8 K/km
Lake Charles Mun, LA (KLCH), 12:00Z
9.7 hours after it, 104 km from the path. May 31, 2024.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 751 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -114 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 182 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 910 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 20 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 131 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 140 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 3.2
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 3.7 K/km
The radar
The Ft Polk radar (KPOE), 28 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:16 UTC.
Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track
Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.
What was reported nearby
Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01:28 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 W Pickering | Vernon, LA | NWS Storm survey found a swath of tree damage comprised of large tree limbs broken off and uprooted trees all facing east. Based on damage indicators, wind speeds were estimated to be 70 MPH. |
| 01:28 UTC | TSTM WND GST 70 | 5 Wsw Pickering | Vernon, LA | NWS Storm survey found a swath of tree damage comprised of large tree limbs broken off and uprooted trees all facing east. Based on damage indicators, wind speeds were estimated to be 70 MPH. |
| 01:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | New Llano | Vernon, LA | Report of trees down near a home in New LLano. Time estimated By radar. |
| 01:43 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Sse De Ridder | Beauregard, LA | Sheriff Office reports numerous trees reported down on highways in and around De Ridder from storms. |
| 01:43 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Se Fort Polk | Vernon, LA | Social media report of tree down on HWY 10 at Lookout Rd. Time estimated by radar. |
| 01:43 UTC | TSTM WND GST 52 | Fort Polk | Vernon, LA | AWOS station KPOE Fort Polk Fr. |
| 01:55 UTC | TSTM WND GST 62 | Fort Polk | Vernon, LA | AWOS station KPOE Fort Polk Fr. |
| 01:58 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 7 E De Ridder | Beauregard, LA | Tree and powerlines across highway 112 between highway 171 and 399. |
| 01:59 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Wnw Lacamp | Vernon, LA | Photo of pine tree blown down across Hicks School Rd between Hwy 121 and hwy 28. Time estimated from radar. |
| 02:02 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 17 Sw Colfax | Natchitoches, LA | An NWS storm survey found thunderstorm winds damage estimated up to 70 mph near the community of Mora. One mobile home received minor roof and fascia damage and there was other tree damage on the property. |
| 02:04 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 6 E Burr Ferry | Vernon, LA | Report from mPING: 3-inch tree limbs broken; Power poles broken. |
| 02:06 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Ene Flatwoods | Rapides, LA | Public reports several trees down near a home in Flatwoods. Time estimated by radar. |
| 02:08 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Sse Bundick Lake | Beauregard, LA | Public reported to utility company thunderstorm damage to a powerline near Dry Creek. Time estimated by radar. |
| 02:09 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 Nw Pickering | Vernon, LA | Report from mPING: 1-inch tree limbs broken; Shingles blown off. |
| 02:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Ssw Flatwoods | Rapides, LA | Tree down across highway 8. |
| 02:16 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Sw Union Hill | Rapides, LA | Corrects previous tornado report from 1 SW Union Hill. Corrects direction traveled from northwest to northeast. Tornado began just west of Highway 462 and north of Jim Thompson rd near Westport. The tornado produced scat |
| 02:16 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Sw Union Hill | Rapides, LA | Tornado began just west of Highway 462 and north of Jim Thompson rd near Westport. The tornado produced scattered tree damage before crossing Freedom road. It traveled across a forested area before crossing Doshie Road w |
| 02:19 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 W Elizabeth | Allen, LA | Public reports large tree limbs blown down on Horseshoe Drive in Elizabeth. Time estimated by radar. |
| 02:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Wsw Union Hill | Rapides, LA | Photos received of large oak tree blown down onto outdoor garage covering. Possible tornado. Time estimated by radar. |
| 02:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Wsw Union Hill | Rapides, LA | Photos received of numerous trees snapped off on a property. Possible tornado. Time estimated by radar. |
| 02:23 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Elizabeth | Allen, LA | Utility company reports numerous power poles broken and trees on lines in the Elizabeth area. Time estimated by radar. |
| 02:24 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Union Hill | Rapides, LA | Photos of metal siding blown off of a hay barn. |
| 02:26 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 Ssw Union Hill | Rapides, LA | Photo and report of 3 pecan trees blown down just south of Planview High School south of Union Hill. Time estimated from radar. |
| 02:31 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Se Calcasieu | Rapides, LA | Utility company reported removal of a downed tree on E. River Road, northwest of Glenmora. Time estimated by radar. |
| 02:32 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Nne Kinder | Allen, LA | Utility company reports tree damage to powerlines in the Kinder area. Time estimated by radar. |
| 02:32 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Glenmora | Rapides, LA | Photo of large tree uprooted in Glenmora. Root ball from tree displaced an outdoor shed. Exact location unknown. Time estimated from radar. |
| 02:32 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Mcnary | Rapides, LA | Utility company reports numerous power poles broken and trees on lines in the Glenmora area. Time estimated by radar. |
| 02:33 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Nne Gardner | Rapides, LA | Public reports trees down on Hot Wells Rd near Mill Race Rd. Time estimated from radar. |
| 02:35 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Calcasieu | Rapides, LA | Trees across East River Road in Calcasieu. |
| 02:35 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Oberlin | Allen, LA | Utility company reports damage to powerlines at Oberlin. Time estimated by radar. |
| 02:37 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 6 Ese Oberlin | Allen, LA | Public reports numerous power poles damaged along HWY 26 east of Oberlin. Time estimated from radar. |
| 02:38 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Glenmora | Rapides, LA | Numerous reports of trees down with other instances of property damage. |
| 02:43 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Sse Forest Hill | Rapides, LA | Public reports homes damaged on Elwood Rd. Time estimated by radar. |
| 02:43 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Sse Forest Hill | Rapides, LA | Public reports numerous trees and powerlines down across Elwood Rd. south of Forest Hill. Time estimated by radar. |
| 02:43 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 N Mcnary | Rapides, LA | Photo of trees blown down onto power lines off Boy Scout Rd in Forest Hill. Time estimated from radar. |
| 02:43 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Woodworth | Rapides, LA | Photos and video of power flashes near Woodworth as storm moved in. Time estimated by radar. |
| 02:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 6 Nnw Basile | Allen, LA | Public reported to utility company a downed powerline at Guidry Rd and Hwy 104. Time estimated by radar. |
| 02:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Mcnary | Rapides, LA | Numerous trees down in the McNary area. |
| 02:46 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ene Woodworth | Rapides, LA | Public reports a large section of trees blown down at Woodworth near I49. Time estimated by radar. |
| 02:49 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Nw Alexandria | Rapides, LA | Report from mPING: Trees uprooted or snapped; Roof blown off. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2024 tornado in LouisianaEvery tornado in Louisiana since 1950Warnings in force in Louisiana nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of May 30, 2024
11 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30 | 5:10 PM CDT | EF2 | Midland, TX | 10.3 | 1,700 | $75,000 | ||
| May 30 | 5:16 PM CDT | Unrated | Midland, TX | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| May 30 | 5:16 PM CDT | Unrated | Pecos, TX | 1.5 | 50 | |||
| May 30 | 6:40 PM CDT | EF3 | Midland, TX | 5.3 | 250 | $150,000 | ||
| May 30 | 6:41 PM CDT | EF1 | Nacogdoches, TX | 4.2 | 387 | |||
| May 30 | 7:30 PM CDT | EF1 | De Soto Parish, LA | 2.5 | 175 | |||
| May 30 | 7:35 PM CDT | EF1 | De Soto Parish, LA | 1.6 | 275 | $100,000 | ||
| May 30 | 7:36 PM CDT | EF1 | De Soto Parish, LA | 1.0 | 110 | |||
| May 30 | 7:51 PM CDT | EF1 | De Soto Parish, LA | 3.9 | 400 | $100,000 | ||
| May 30 | 7:58 PM CDT | EF1 | De Soto Parish, LA | 0.5 | 250 | |||
| May 30 | 7:59 PM CDT | EF1 | De Soto Parish, LA | 0.3 | 100 |
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.