Pat Shingleton for September 19, 2009
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The Latin word tornare, which means to turn, merged with the Spanish word tronada, meaning thunderstorm, to create “tornado.” A funnel and a tornado are whirling columns of air created from thunderstorms. If the column stays aloft, it’s a “funnel,” but it’s a “tornado” if it touches ground. Yesterday’s funnel near Port Allen was close to becoming a tornado. As I reviewed the pictures forwarded to the Weather Center, I noticed that the condensation funnel dropped more than halfway from the cloud base to the surface, and at this point damaging winds could have reached the ground. The worst tornado in our area hit Grosse Tete, Livonia, Southern University and Broadmoor in the 1980s.
Fastcast: Fewer showers.
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 88 degrees. Calm wind becoming southerly between 5 and 10 mph. Tonight, a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72 degrees. Southerly wind about 5 mph becoming calm.
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