By LEONARD GRAY

ST. ROSE – A tornado touched down briefly in St. Rose during the storms of Oct. 25, damaging trees and power lines, but little else, parish officials said.

Director of Emergency Management Tab Troxler said the funnel cloud descended in the vicinity of IMTT’s southeast corner to Fourth Street, along River Road.

“We were very, very lucky,” Troxler said.

John Little III, manager of IMTT, said damage was confined to some metal roofing, most of the board fence along River Road and the guardhouse at the front gate, which was “completely demolished.”

The guard on duty, Ricky Westerman, was away from the guardhouse at the moment and was later described as having “a big smile on his face.”

Fifteen employees were on duty that night at IMTT, but none were injured and operations were not slowed.

Next door, Pat Elfer at the St. Rose Tavern had her family, including her three daughters, and six customers trapped by the storm.

The group mostly took shelter under a pool table, as Elfer posted herself near the front door, in time to see roofing and power lines along River Road blasted down the street. The power went out, and remained out for 12 hours.

“When I saw that first pop, I thought it was serious,” Elfer said. “It was real scary.”

Once the storm passed, with no street lights and no power, the tavern (normally dimly lit) was pitch-black. Inside, the Elfers searched in the dark for flashlights and candles. She praised Entergy in restoring power and parish workers who cleared the roadway.

Some confusion arose that night when the emergency operations center sounded the sirens that evening, two times parish wide and a third time in the St. Rose area, Troxler added.

The confusion stemmed from people not sure of the purpose of the siren system, believing in error it is to alert residents of industrial plant accidents. On the other hand, Troxler said, the system is to immediately warn residents who hear it to go inside and get emergency information, either from television or radio. It is only used when there is an immediate threat to life, such as a tornado.

Other misconceptions exist regarding tornados themselves. Troxler said there is confusion, for instance, between a tornado watch and a tornado warning. A tornado watch, he said, is when conditions are present for the formations of funnel clouds, which could strengthen and touch down, becoming a tornado. A tornado warning is when a funnel cloud has been spotted, either by an eyewitness, or on radar. Immediate action must then be taken. “Reaction time may be just seconds,” Troxler said.

According to The Online Tornado FAQ (at www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado), a tornado is a rotating column of air often but not always visible as a funnel cloud. Tornados can appear from any direction, but most move from southest to northeast, or from west to east.

Some, though, change direction or even backtrack. Tornados can last from several seconds to more than an hour, but most last less than 10 minutes.

A waterspout is a tornado over water, but aren’t really counted as tornados unless they strike land.

Tornados are often, but not always associated with hurricanes. Hurricane Beulah in 1967 spawned 115 tornados. Those who remember the tornado which struck LaPlace during 1992’s Hurricane Andrew remember than devastation clearly.

Do mobile homes attract tornados?

The Online Tornado FAQ insists they do not. Mobile homes can break apart in severe thunderstorms, never mind tornados, and make for graphic news footage, but they do not attract tornados.

If one is spotted headed your way and you cannot get out of its path in time, drop into a ditch or low-lying, ground-level area. Do not get under a bridge or similar structure, as they could be destroyed by the winds.