June 1-2, 2004: Severe Thunderstorms

Overview

During the very early morning hours on Tuesday, June 1, 2004, severe storms producing damaging winds and very large hail tup to the size of baseballs developed across North Louisiana and adjacent areas of East Texas along a cold front. These storms caused several trees to fall across the area and hail broke out windoes in Shreveport.

Late Tuesday evening, a complex of storms developed across North Central Texas and moved east along the weakening cold front, which was located along the Interstate 20 corridor. This line of storms produced a wind gust of 59 mph at the Shreveport Regional Airport. National Weather Service storm surveys concluded all of the damage was from straight-line winds.

By sunrise on Wednesday, June 2, the complex of storms that affected the area overnight had pushed east and southeast out of the area. The stalled frontal boundary across the area had dissipated, but another cold front approached. This front was located across Northern Oklahona and Northwest Arkansas Wednesday morning. A line of storms developed along this front around midday and surged southeast into the area by Wednesday evening. This round of storms affected the entire area, while the previous couple of complexes of storms had missed Southeast Oklahoma, Southwest Arkansas, and adjacent areas of Northeast Texas. The Texarkana Regional Airport recorded a 67 mph wind gust as the line of storms moved through. In the surveys conducted by National Weather Service officials, no tornadic activity was found. All of the damage appeared to be from straight-line winds with speeds up to 85 mph or higher in spots.

These rounds of thunderstorms brough widespread wind damage in the form of thousands of broken, snapped, or uprooted trees across the area. There were some homes and buildings damaged by the strong winds, and some were damaged by falling trees. There were also reports of large hail, generally up to the size of quarters, except for the hail that occurred just after midnight on June 1st.

There was one fatality in Franklin County, TX, where a man was killed when a tree fell on his mobile home. Interstate 30 in Hempstead and Nevada Counties was closed for a time due to overturned trucks blocking the road. Two people were reported injured with the overturned trucks. Two other people in Hempstead County were injured when a car hit a downed tree. In Shreveport, a young boy was hurt when a tree fell on the bedroom where he was sleeping.

There were thousands of homes and business without electrical power, some for several days, due to trees knocking down power lines. This was one of the largest power outages across Northwest Louisiana and adjacent areas of East Texas since the December 2000 ice storm.

Graphics

Photos

National surface map on the morning of June 1, 2004.

National surface map on the morning of June 1st, 2004.

National surface map on June 2nd, 2004.

Base velocity product showing strong winds over Central Harrison County

This image shows strong winds heading toward (green and blue) or away (red and orange) from the radar site at Shreveport Regional Airport. The green and blue represent above ground level winds heading toward the radar site (arrow points toward the radar). The dark blue color represents wind speeds between 58 mph to 74 mph, while the light blue color in the middle of Harrison County represents wind speeds in excess of 74 mph. In the center of Harrison County, these winds are being sampled around 2000 feet above ground level.

Base velocity image showing strong winds heading away from Shreveport

This is a base velocity image taken as a severe line of storms moved across the Red River into Bossier City. The orange color represents winds between 58 and 74 mph, while the yellowish orange color is winds in excess of 74 mph. The storm intensified over Shreveport, with the radar estimating winds in excess of 74 mph around 500 feet above ground level. This image was taken at 1:14am CDT, June 2, 2004.

The image on the left shows a large area of wind heading toward (green and blue colors) the radar site in Shreveport in relation to the reflectivity product (right) taken at the same time. The large area of light blue on the base velocity image (left) represent winds in excess of 74 mph. The southern extent of this light blue color (near Vivian, LA) was being sampled around 2000 feet above ground level.


A boat storage building was tossed over onto a residence near Quitman, TX, by strong straight-line winds on June 1st, 2004.

Damage to a building in Shreveport, LA.

On the evening of June 2, 2004, a large tree fell on a truck in Shreveport. This scene was repeated over-and-over across the Shreveport-Bossier City area, as well as much of the Four State Region.

A tree fell on this house injuring a person inside

This house was damaged by a tree falling on it. A child was injured when the tree fell into his bedroom.

A tree fell on this house in Shreveport, LA.

Back to Top