1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale 2Time from first tornado to last tornado
On November 22–24, 2004, a major tornado outbreak took place in the Southern United States.
Meteorological synopsis
The outbreak began on the 22nd, producing six weak F0 tornadoes in Louisiana and Texas, three of which occurred in the Houston area. The tornadoes caused very minimal damage and no injuries.[1]
Tornado activity continued in the same general area on the 23rd. Early on, most of the touchdowns were weak, though an F2 tornado near Kountze, Texas damaged between 10 and 20 houses and killed a woman when trees crushed her mobile home.[2] Several other tornadoes occurred in Texas throughout the afternoon, and soon began touch down in Louisiana as well. An F2 struck the town of Hutton, damaging about 15 houses and injuring 3 people. Further north, an F3 touched down and ripped directly through the town of Olla, where major damage occurred. A high school in town sustained significant damage, along with 106 homes. Some of the homes only had interior rooms left. A pickup truck outside of town was thrown 200 feet, and in the nearby town of Standard, four homes and a store were destroyed. Overall, the Olla/Standard tornado killed one person and injured 20 others.[3] Another F3 touched down near Fayette, Mississippi, destroying a steel-frame shed, damaging several homes, and flattening large swaths of trees.[4]
Vigorous tornado activity continued on the 24th, mainly across Mississippi and Alabama. However, an F2 tornado tore though the northwest side of Slidell, Louisiana, damaging 152 homes in a single subdivision and injuring 4 people. Numerous tornadoes touched down in Mississippi, with the strongest being an F3 that passed near Noxapater. The Noxapater tornado downed hundreds of trees, tossed vehicles, and destroyed chicken houses. A house was completely destroyed, resulting in a fatality and two injuries.[5] In Alabama, a large F2 tracked across Autauga, Chilton, and Coosa counties. The tornado struck the Cooper community, resulting in major structural damage.[6] Another F2 touched down and struck the Talladega Superspeedway, where two concession stands within the infield area of the race track had their roofs blown off. The Bush Garage area received building damage and the garage doors were bowed out. Debris was scattered between the garage area and Victory Lane. One digital leader board was completely destroyed and another one sustained major damage. The Talladega tornado continued east through Eastaboga and Bynum. In Eastaboga, two homes suffered major roof damage, two porches were destroyed and many trees were blown down. In Bynum, two mobile homes were heavily damaged by fallen trees. One of the trees smashed a mobile home, killing a 75-year-old woman. The tornado caused roof and structural damage in southern Anniston before dissipating.[7] No tornadoes occurred on the 25th. Overall, the outbreak produced 98 tornadoes and killed four people.[8]
A tornado damaged or destroyed 5 to 10 homes and knocked down trees and power lines. The tornado moved through Evans, damaging or destroying several homes, before dissipating.
Extensive tree damage occurred, along with minor damage to farm outbuildings. Many other trees were either snapped or uprooted on a stretch of over two miles. Several homes sustained moderate to major damage, including two frame homes were destroyed. Two mobile homes were also destroyed, and one woman suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung.
1 death – A high school sustained significant roof damage, where the tornado was rated a low end F2. The damage path extended into the middle of Olla where numerous homes sustained severe damage. Some homes lost the roof, exterior walls, and a few interior walls. Across the northeast part of town, five mobile homes were completely destroyed and a pickup was launched 200 feet and smashed upside down. In the community of Standard, four homes and a store were destroyed. Total damage consisted of minor to major damage to 106 homes and the high school. The tornado continued into Caldwell Parish, where numerous trees were blown over and snapped off at the parish line. The tornado then tracked northeast to the community of Spaulding where a few homes sustained roof damage. Three miles northeast of Spaulding, hundreds of trees were snapped off in a ravine. In Holum, several homes were heavily damaged, including a home that was unroofed, warranting an F2 rating. Before lifting, numerous trees were snapped and a home sustained roof damage near Copenhagen.
One mobile home and two sheds sustained minor damage and caused major roof damage to four homes off of a highway. one of these homes lost almost the entirety roof and every window was blown out. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted near the end of the path.
A tornado damaged 152 homes near Slidell, with nine of the homes being declared uninhabitable. Four people sustained injuries and were treated by a local hospital and were released soon after.
Several law enforcement officers reported visually spotting a tornado. The tornado caused significant damage in Westwego, where 25 to 30 commercial buildings sustained primarily minor damage to roofs and plate glass windows. In Harvey, an air conditioning unit was ripped off of a school building and several trees were downed.
