A tornado that touched down near Varnado just past midnight Saturday night only caused tree damage and no one was injured, according to Washington Parish Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Director Bobbi Jo Breland.
There were windy conditions for much of the day Saturday and a tornado watch had been announced. But the twister that struck near Varnado is believed to be the only one that occurred in Washington Parish over the windy weekend.
According to the National Weather Service’s New Orleans office, the Varnado-area storm was an EF1 Tornado, which is generally considered to be a less powerful storm.
The NWS analysis of the storm indicated that the tornado touched down near Lon Miley Road at 12:27 a.m. Sunday.
It quickly tracked to the northeast and intensified as it crossed Highway 21 to the south of Varnado.
Some pines trees were completely snapped by the tornado, and as it crossed the highway and continued to the northeast it also snapped and uprooted some larger trees.
Near Ellis Road the tornado began to weaken. At 12:34 a.m. it was no longer classified as a tornado. Its total time on the ground as an EF1 tornado was 7 minutes. The length of its path on the ground was estimated by the NWS at 4.46 miles, and its maximum width during the time it was on the ground was 75 yards. Estimated peak winds were 100 miles per hour. (EF1 classification is 86 mph to 110 mph.)
While damage was minor and mostly limited to trees, officials noted that the brief touchdown time of the tornado could have been much more serious had its wind speed been higher. Which is why weather experts constantly urge people to pay close attention when a tornado watch is announced. Once a tornado watch changes to a tornado warning, everyone needs to immediately find a safe place to shelter.
