NEW ORLEANS — Wednesday marks one year since a powerful EF-3 tornado tore through Arabi. But how often does Louisiana see powerful tornadoes? And have they become more frequent?
We took a closer look at the data from the “Tornado Archive” in your Breakdown. The Tornado Archive is an extensive online data preservation project put together by researchers and meteorologists.
The map shows that from January 1, 1980, to December 31, 2021, there were 1,750 tornadoes in Louisiana. About 1,400 people were hurt and 67 died.
That number seems large, but looking at strong tornadoes – EF-2 or stronger – and in Southeast Louisiana, the number is quite lower.
On that list is an EF-3 that came through New Orleans East in February of 2017, plus a few EF-2 tornadoes that came through New Orleans in 2006 and 2007.
A few others on the West Bank were short-lived and their path was under 100 yards. The most powerful in that time frame was an EF-4 that hit Laplace in 1983.
What the map doesn’t show is three tornado events in Southeast Louisiana in 2022.
On March 22, two tornadoes were reported, including the EF-3 that devastated Arabi. Then, on March 30, there were two more weak tornadoes in Louisiana; one in Roseland and another in Lacombe.
And on December 14, four more touched down in our area, including two EF-2 tornadoes.
But are tornadoes becoming more frequent in Louisiana? Let’s break it down by the decades.
In the years 1980-1989, there were 310 tornadoes, including 86 rated as an EF-2 or stronger.
From 1990-1999, we saw 389 total tornadoes and 54 considered strong.
From 2000 to 2009, there were 428 tornadoes and 44 were considered strong.
And from 2010 to the end of 2019, there were 528 tornadoes, including 59 strong.
Those numbers don’t show a significant jump in powerful storms through the decades, so if it seems like you’re hearing about tornadoes in Louisiana more often, it could be just because the technology has changed so much.
These days, our Local Weather Experts can watch tornadoes as they’re forming on the radar. And with a camera in everyone’s pocket, video and photos are online and on the air within minutes.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.