EF3 Tornado in 2020
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The 2020 Monroe tornado was a damaging tornado which spawned over Louisiana. Formed from the 2020 Easter tornado outbreak, it spawned on On April 12, 2020, on 10:36 a.m., CST, dissipating nine minutes later on 10:45 a.m., CST. It had an intensity of EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with a total track length of and a width of . It broke multiple houses, mostly the roof, with a total damage estimate of 458 houses from the Ouachita Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and 200-300 estimated by the major. Total damage amounted to $250,000,000.
Meteorological synopsis.
Background.
Several days before the tornado, the Storm Prediction Center noted a possible formation of a tornado within Louisiana and Mississippi. Through April 11 and 12, warm air rushed through East Texas, North Louisiana, and Southern Arkansas, with a warm front and an upper-level low, which made 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 across Louisiana, some of them in Monroe, Louisiana. At approximately 11 a.m., these storms were approaching Ouachita Parish, with circulation directing them there. From these conditions, the 2020 Monroe tornado formed.
Track and intensity.
On April 12, 2020, on 10:36 a.m., CST, a tornado touched down between Fern Street and Brown Street within Brownsville-Bawcomville, Louisiana. It crossed Sandal Street and then crossed Jonesboro Road. It crossed the Ouachita River twice before bending and then strengthening over Riverbend Drive. It then crossed the river again before avoiding Downtown Monroe by a mile, crossing South Grand Street. It then moved over the intersection of U.S. Route 165 and Interstate 20 and then crossed Milhaven Road. The peak intensity of the tornado was seen in Orchid Drive. It then went near Monroe Regional Airport 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 in the Enhanced Fujita scale, with a track length of and a width of . Just after the dissipation, on 11:44 a.m., a tornado emergency was declared over Monroe and Northeast Ouachita Parish.
Impact.
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. Along Sandal Street, minor damage was spotted in homes but tripped a trailer. It then brought a conveyor belt onto a train at the Graphic Packaging International Paper Mill. Past the Ouachita River, it broke multiple trees and ripped off a roof from a home. It minorly damaged the Masur Museum of Art before damaging roofs of homes inside Monroe. It damaged a structure and tipped multiple poles, too. Along Orchid Drive, three roofs were damaged, with one home partially damaged. It then destroyed a hangar from the Monroe Regional Airport before dissipating. 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. Of these, 20 houses were destroyed in Monroe's Sunflower Subdivision. Mayor Jamie Mayo gave an estimate of 200 to 300 houses destroyed. No fatalities were reported. Seven distribution lines were damaged, with $25-30 million defaced from the airport alone, along with a few cancelled flights. About 25,600 customers had no electricity. 260 poles, 600 spans of wire, and 75 transformers were damaged because of the tornado. Gas leaks were also reported in multiple neighborhoods.
Aftermath.
On 2:30 p.m. on April 12, police officers and rescuers checked on people's houses to see if they were okay. There were minor injuries, where emergency workers were helping. The city managed to secure 200 hotel rooms in order to house the people affected. In Twitter, Mayo posted "By the grace of God, early reports show only a few minor injuries. Pray for our city!" He announced that people should not touch the downed power lines, adding that they already had emergency aid. Louisiana governor John 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."
References.
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