JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — A tornado briefly touched down in River Ridge during Sunday night's heavy storms, causing minor tree damage and snapping power poles, the National Weather Service confirmed Tuesday.
According to the service, an EF0 tornado, the weakest on the Fujita scale, touched down around 8:20 p.m. Sunday with estimated winds of 70 mph on the east bank of Jefferson Parish.
Radar estimates show the tornado lasted roughly three minutes, happened between 8:19 and 8:22 p.m. and moved 2.6 miles before dispersing, the NWS said. At most, it had a width of 50 yards.
NWS surveys found damage from the high winds beginning near Jefferson Highway and Andrea Street in River Ridge, causing minor tree damage in the area until the Mike Miley Playground on David Drive in Metairie.
The tops of some power poles were also snapped by the winds, taking power lines down along Dickory Avenue in Harahan.
More than 12,000 customers in Southeast Louisiana were without power in the hours following the storm, Entergy officials said.