An eastward-moving shortwave trough tracked across the continental United States through that two-day period, combining with abundant moisture, instability, and wind shear to promote the formation of a long-lived squall line.
[8] Despite the unusually high confidence at a long lead time, the threat region aligned well with climatologically favored areas for severe weather during the month.
Aloft, a deep shortwave trough across the Southwestern United States pushed eastward, resulting in cold mid-level temperatures and the development of a modestly unstable environment.
In the presence of strong wind shear, and given the impetus for convective development, thunderstorms mainly capable of a severe hail threat began to form throughout the morning hours.
[24] Numerous other tornadoes and hundreds of damaging wind reports were recorded throughout the afternoon, but the squall line began to weaken late on January 11 as the forcing mechanism lifted northeast into the Ohio River Valley and as daytime heating waned.
[25] This deadly high-end EF2 tornado first touched down in Sligo north of LA 612 and quickly intensified as it moved northeastward, snapping and uprooting hundreds of trees and damaging several carports and outbuildings.
More trees were downed as the tornado clipped the southeast side of the Barksdale Air Force Base, before it reached its peak intensity south of Haughton.
After clipping the southeast corner of Camp Minden, the tornado ripped through the north side of Sibley along US 371/LA 7 and the northern fringes of Dubberly, where it downed trees and power lines, damaged a metal barn, the roof of a home, and destroyed a shed on Wallraven Road near LA 531.
At the South Webster Industrial Park in Sibley, an 18-wheeler trailer was overturned, and a building, fencing, and equipment were damaged at an oil field service company.
After crossing the interstate southeast of Minden, the tornado moved through Nine Forks at the intersection of US 80 and LA 532, rolling a single-wide mobile home on Fuller Cemetery Road and damaging the roofs of two structures.