Tornadoes · United States · Louisiana

Tornadoes in Saint Bernard Parish, Louisiana

17 tornadoes have crossed Saint Bernard Parish since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 61st of the 64 counties in Louisiana with a tornado on record, an average of one every 4.5 years. They have killed 1 person and injured 12. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    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.

  4. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    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.

  7. 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.

Now

Tornadoes
17
Deaths
1
Injuries
12
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF3, March 22, 2022

The deadliest in Saint Bernard Parish

  1. EF3 Arabi tornado, LouisianaMarch 22, 20221 killed, 2 injured

The strongest

  1. EF3 Arabi tornado, LouisianaMarch 22, 2022EF3, 11.5 mi (18 km)
  2. EF2, Jefferson, Saint Bernard and Orleans parishes, LouisianaDecember 14, 2022EF2, 10.6 mi (17 km)
  3. F2, Saint Bernard Parish, LouisianaMay 8, 1995F2, 0.8 mi (1 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 13 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Saint Bernard Parish. Each year links to every tornado in Louisiana that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20261EF0
20223112EF3
20211Unrated
20172EF0
20121EF0
20112EF1
20051F1
20031F0
19951F2
19901F1
19871F1
19851F0
19831F1

Every tornado that crossed Saint Bernard Parish

17 tornadoes, newest first. The 1 at the top is this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and its rating is marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 19, 20265:51 PM CDTEF0Saint Bernard Parish0.775
December 14, 20224:43 PM CSTUnratedSaint Bernard Parish4.050
December 14, 20223:49 PM CSTEF2Jefferson Parish10.620010$150 million
March 22, 20227:21 PM CDTEF3Arabi tornado11.532012$33 million
September 15, 20214:07 AM CDTUnratedSaint Bernard Parish1.925
February 7, 20171:04 PM CSTUnratedSaint Bernard Parish7.7200
February 7, 201712:36 PM CSTEF0Saint Bernard Parish2.625
May 23, 20123:07 PM CDTEF0Saint Bernard Parish0.233$20,000
September 3, 20118:50 PM CDTEF1Saint Bernard Parish0.550$10,000
March 29, 20118:02 PM CDTEF1Saint Bernard Parish0.625$200,000
April 6, 200510:22 AM CDTF1Jefferson Parish13.040$120,000
June 30, 200312:00 PM CDTF0Saint Bernard Parish0.230$10,000
May 8, 199510:30 PM CDTF2Saint Bernard Parish0.840$50,000 to $500,000
May 27, 19907:15 PM CDTF1Saint Bernard Parish0.220$5,000 to $50,000
February 15, 19871:30 PM CSTF1Saint Bernard Parish1.030$5,000 to $50,000
August 15, 19853:30 PM CDTF0Saint Bernard Parish0.217
April 22, 19839:10 PM CSTF1Saint Bernard Parish1.033$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Saint Bernard ParishThe forecast for Saint Bernard ParishThe live radar over Saint Bernard ParishEvery county in Louisiana

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.