Extreme Tornado Distribution in Louisiana

Keywords: Tornado mitigation, preparedness, risk, warnings, shelters
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

This study investigates tornado preparedness in Louisiana. The goal for this research is to compare the distribution of extreme tornadic activity in the state with the state’s placement of warning sirens. Data from the Shreveport Times Archives in Shreveport, Louisiana (as taken from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) are gathered and show the date of the tornado event, the intensity, the distance the storm was on the ground, and the width of the event from 1950–present. There is no universal system for preparing for tornadoes in Louisiana, especially in New Orleans where two EF 3 events have occurred within the past five years. This study visualizes the location of known tornado tracks in the state and pairs it with visualizations of where current shelters, evacuation zones, and sirens are located. This geographic comparison allows insight into where future shelters and sirens should be located based on the historical climatology. It is known that there are not enough sirens, warning systems, and shelters in Louisiana for its increasing tornadic activity. Southeast Louisiana has “evacuspots”, locations represented by a stick figure hailing a cab, where residents of New Orleans can wait for a bus to pick them up for mandatory evacuations, but it does not have sirens warning individuals about the imminent threat of a tornado. The research will assist emergency management workers, federal and state governmental agencies, insurance companies, and citizens of the state who are interested in knowing the historical occurrences of tornadoes in Louisiana.