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Weekly Weather Event -Week of March 21st

March 25, 2022

On Tuesday March 22, tornadic supercell thunderstorms formed over Southern Louisiana, bringing strong winds and heavy damage across the New Orleans metro area. Two tornadoes have been confirmed from this storm system, ranging in strength from an EF1 to an EF3. The EF3 brought the worst of the damage to the Arabi suburb of New Orleans, damaging houses and blowing some off their foundations. EF3-rating damage was concentrated in a relatively small area, resulting in damage to roofs and exterior walls of houses and downing power lines. One death has been reported as a result of the EF3 tornado.

This region of New Orleans has seen natural disasters before; Hurricane Katrina damaged this suburb back in 2005, and Hurricane Ida passed over the area just last year. Most of the houses in Arabi do not have basements, so residents found shelter in interior rooms. The National Weather Service recommends finding shelter in the lowest level of a building, such as a basement, interior room, or a tornado shelter. If caught outside, find a low lying area such as a ditch or ravine.