Campus Alert Archive
UNO

The Strongest Tornado in Metro New Orleans History Crosses the Industrial Canal Six Miles From the UNO Lakefront Campus

LAtornadoemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the evening of Tuesday, March 22, 2022, an EF3 tornado with 160 mph winds tracked across Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes, devastating the Arabi neighborhood and killing one person. The University of New Orleans, on the Lakefront campus about six miles north of the tornado track, activated its emergency alert system as the supercell crossed into Orleans Parish.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of New Orleans
Public R2 · LA
~8,400 studentsUNO Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstructionNWS New Orleans/Baton Rouge office documentation that a tornado warning was issued at 7:01 PM CDT on March 22, 2022 covering Orleans Parish179 chars
UNO Alert: Tornado Warning issued for Orleans Parish. Take shelter immediately on the lowest floor, interior room. Stay away from windows. Do not leave campus or attempt to drive.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed; the 7:01 PM CDT issuance time matches the National Weather Service's documented tornado warning for Orleans Parish on March 22, 2022
UNO's Lakefront campus sits on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain in Orleans Parish, about six miles north of the EF3 tornado's path through Arabi and the Lower Ninth Ward — within the warning polygon
'Do not leave campus' is a critical instruction at UNO because the Lakefront campus has limited internal sheltering options and many students drive in from suburban parishes that would also be under warnings
UPDATESMS+29 min
Approximate reconstructionNOLA.com (Times-Picayune) reporting documenting that the tornado struck the Arabi/Lower Ninth Ward area around 7:30 PM CDT on March 22, 2022205 chars
UNO Alert: A large and dangerous tornado has been confirmed in the New Orleans area, moving northeast. Severe damage is reported in Arabi. Remain sheltered. Do not attempt to drive. Stay away from windows.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed; the timing matches NOLA.com reporting that the tornado struck Arabi at approximately 7:30 PM CDT
Naming Arabi specifically helps UNO students and staff who live in St. Bernard Parish understand that their home neighborhoods were directly impacted — an immediate personal salience for many Lakefront-campus commuters
The high-end EF3 — the strongest tornado in metro New Orleans history — was tracked northeast, eventually crossing Lake Pontchartrain north of the UNO campus and weakening
ALL CLEARSMS+1h 29m
Approximate reconstructionNWS New Orleans/Baton Rouge documentation that the tornado weakened and dissipated after crossing into the lake north of New Orleans213 chars
UNO Alert: The tornado warning for Orleans Parish has expired. UNO campus is safe. Severe damage reported in Arabi and the Lower Ninth Ward. Avoid travel through impacted areas. Contact UPD if you need assistance.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed; the timing matches NWS LIX documentation that the tornado weakened and dissipated after crossing Lake Pontchartrain north of the UNO Lakefront campus
Mentioning Arabi and the Lower Ninth Ward in the all-clear is appropriate because many UNO students live in those neighborhoods or have family there — UNO has a long history of enrolling first-generation students from these St. Bernard and Lower Ninth communities
The university subsequently mobilized [community-engagement and student-services support](https://www.uno.edu/upd/university-alert-system) for affected students, consistent with UNO's historic role as an anchor institution for working-class New Orleans
Context

Background

The University of New Orleans is a public R2 urban-serving research university, located on the Lakefront campus on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain with about 8,400 students. The campus sits at the northernmost edge of Orleans Parish, separated from St. Bernard Parish to the southeast by the Industrial Canal. On the evening of Tuesday, March 22, 2022, a strong upper-level disturbance produced tornadic supercell thunderstorms over the metro New Orleans area. The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning at 7:00-7:01 PM CDT, followed by a second warning at 7:19 PM CDT, covering Orleans and adjoining parishes. A high-end EF3 tornado with winds up to 160 mph — the strongest ever recorded in the New Orleans metropolitan area — struck around 7:30 PM CDT, devastating the Arabi neighborhood in St. Bernard Parish and the Lower Ninth Ward in Orleans Parish. The tornado killed Connor Lambert, a 25-year-old Arabi resident, and injured several others; many homes were destroyed. The tornado tracked northeast and weakened after crossing Lake Pontchartrain. The UNO Lakefront campus, about six miles north of the tornado track, was within the warning polygon but did not sustain direct damage. UNO activated its University Alert System — a multi-channel system that includes SMS, email, and digital signage — and held students in shelter through the warning window. Many UNO students live in the affected St. Bernard and Lower Ninth Ward neighborhoods; the institutional response in subsequent days included student assistance and community-engagement coordination.
Analysis

Key Findings

The March 22, 2022 Arabi tornado was the strongest tornado ever recorded in the New Orleans metropolitan area — the EF3's 160 mph winds passed within six miles of the UNO Lakefront campus
UNO's Lakefront location places it in a less-tornado-prone part of the metro area than other Louisiana universities, but the March 22 event tested the University Alert System under its strongest-in-history tornado scenario
Many UNO students and staff live in St. Bernard Parish and the Lower Ninth Ward — neighborhoods devastated by the EF3; the campus alert response was followed by a community-anchor support role that reflects UNO's historic mission
The tornado's location-specific damage — concentrated in working-class predominantly Black and Latinx neighborhoods that UNO disproportionately serves — placed UNO at the center of subsequent disaster-equity conversations about metro New Orleans recovery
Outcome
The UNO Lakefront campus did not sustain direct tornado damage. The same supercell produced a [high-end EF3 tornado](https://www.weather.gov/lix/arabitornado03222022) — the strongest ever recorded in the New Orleans metropolitan area — with winds up to 160 mph. The tornado killed 25-year-old [Connor Lambert of Arabi](https://www.nola.com/news/weather/article_b694f726-aa3f-11ec-8d54-cbd17f2a28fd.html) and severely damaged the Arabi and Lower Ninth Ward areas. Mayor LaToya Cantrell declared a state of emergency.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    NWS LIX - March 22, 2022 Metro New Orleans Tornado
    weather.gov
  2. Source
    Tornado outbreak of March 21-23, 2022 (Wikipedia)
    en.wikipedia.org
  3. News
    Tornado touches down in New Orleans, Arabi, killing one and leaving trail of damage (NOLA.com)
    nola.com
  4. Official
    University Alert System (University of New Orleans)
    uno.edu
  5. Official
    March 22 Tornado Updates (NOLA Ready - City of New Orleans)
    ready.nola.gov
  6. News
    Day two of Southern tornado outbreak brings EF3 damage to New Orleans area (Yale Climate Connections)
    yaleclimateconnections.org
Tags
tornadoweatherlouisianapublic-r2uno-alertnew-orleansef3-tornadomarch-2022-outbreakarabilakefront-campuslower-ninth-ward
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion