 A damaged house in Monroe after the tornado. | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | April 12, 2020, 11:36 a.m. CST |
| Dissipated | April 12, 2020, 11:45 a.m. CST |
| EF3 tornado | |
| on theEnhanced Fujita scale | |
| Path length | 8.01 miles (12.89 km) |
| Highest winds | 140 mph (230 km/h) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | None |
| Injuries | None |
| Damage | $250 million (2020USD) |
| Areas affected | Monroe metropolitan area, Louisiana |
| [1] | |
Part of the2020 Easter tornado outbreak andTornadoes of 2020 | |
During the late morning hours of April 12, 2020, a short-lived but damagingtornado struckMonroe, Louisiana, as part of ahistoric tornado outbreak. The tornado touched down at 11:36 a.m.CST and dissipated nine minutes later at 11:45 a.m. The tornado reached EF3 intensity on theEnhanced Fujita scale, with a total track length of 8.01 miles (12.89 kilometres) and a width of 300 yards (270 metres). It damaged numerous houses, mostly the roofs. The Ouachita Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness estimated a total of 458 houses were damaged by the storms, with the damage from the tornado that struck Monroe amounting to $250 million (2020USD).[note 1]
The tornado outbreak was anticipated a week earlier, caused synoptically by a shortwave ejecting northeast across the Southern Plains and Mississippi Valley.[2] Several days before the tornado, theStorm Prediction Center noted a possible severe weather event within Louisiana andMississippi. Through April 11 and 12, warm air rushed throughEast Texas,North Louisiana, andSouthern Arkansas, with a warm front and anupper-level low, which produced multiple rain showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms were severe, with strong winds and hail. These storms amounted to a total of nine tornadoes acrossLouisiana, some of them inMonroe, Louisiana.[1][3] At 16:30 UTC, most of Mississippi and Alabama had a 15 percent chance for tornado formation.[4] At approximately 11:00 CDT (17:00 UTC), these storms were moving northeast, approaching theOuachita Parish. From these conditions, the 2020 Monroe tornado formed.[1][3]
On April 12, 2020, at 10:36 a.m.,CST, a tornado touched down between Fern Street and Brown Street withinBrownsville-Bawcomville, Louisiana. Just after it touched down, it snapped hundreds of trees around the Brownsville-Bawcomville area. Some of the remains of the trees then fell onto homes. It crossed Sandal Street, where minor damage to homes and a tipped trailer was found, and then crossed Jonesboro Road. It then brought a conveyor belt onto a train at the Graphic Packaging International Paper Mill.[1]
Two minutes after its formation, it briefly had EF2 intensity before weakening back to EF1. At 10:39 a.m., it weakened into an EF0. It crossed theOuachita River twice, where it became an EF1 at 10:40 a.m. before turning sharply to the northeast, strengthening over Riverbend Drive. It then crossed the river again before avoidingDowntown Monroe by a mile, crossing South Grand Street. Past the Ouachita River, it broke multiple trees and ripped off a roof from a home. It inflicted minor damage to theMasur Museum of Art before damaging roofs of homes inside Monroe. It damaged a structure and tipped multiple poles, too. It then moved over the intersection ofU.S. Route 165 andInterstate 20 and then crossed Milhaven Road.[1][5] The peak intensity of the tornado occurred at Orchid Drive, where EF3 intensity damage was inflicted due to a collapse of both interior and exterior walls in a residential single-story house;[2] three roofs were damaged, with one home partially damaged. At 10:44 a.m., it weakened into an EF0. Shortly after, it intensified back into EF1. It then went nearMonroe Regional Airport, where it destroyed a hangar, and then dissipated on 10:45 a.m., CST, the same day, with a total duration of nine minutes. It had an intensity of EF3 on theEnhanced Fujita scale, with a track length of 8.01 mi (12.89 km) and a width of 300 yd (270 m).[1][5] Just after the dissipation, at 11:44 a.m., a tornado emergency was declared over Monroe and Northeast Ouachita Parish.[3][6]
Estimates from the Ouachita Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness showed that a total of 458 homes were affected, along with two other tornadoes. From these, 23 homes were totally damaged, 108 had major damage, 243 with minor damage, and another 84 homes were barely affected.[1] Of these, 20 houses were destroyed in Monroe's Sunflower Subdivision.[7] Mayor Jamie Mayo gave an estimate of 200 to 300 houses destroyed. No fatalities were reported.[8] Seven distribution lines were damaged, with $25-30 million defaced from the airport alone,[1] along with a few cancelled flights.[9][10] An estimated 25,600 residents had no electricity. 260 poles, 600 spans of wire, and 75 transformers were damaged because of the tornado.[11] Gas leaks were also reported in multiple neighborhoods.[12]
On 2:30 p.m. on April 12, police officers and rescuers checked on people's houses to see if they were okay. The city managed to secure 200 hotel rooms in order to house the people affected.[13] OnTwitter, Mayo posted "By the grace of God, early reports show only a few minor injuries. Pray for our city!"[9] He announced that people should not touch the downed power lines, adding that they already had emergency aid.[14] Louisiana governorJohn Bel Edwards published a statement on Twitter, stating "The images and reports of major tornado damage in the Monroe area are heartbreaking, and my prayers are with the people there. We are in contact with local officials in the area to provide support."[13]