Severe Weather Plagues Already Waterlogged Louisiana
Pastor Dale Morgan
Severe Weather Plagues Already Waterlogged Louisiana*
Thursday, May 15, 2008
SHREVEPORT, La. — A line of drenching thunderstorms moved across the
state from west to east Thursday after record rainfall caused flooding
in waterlogged parts of Louisiana.
Most of Louisiana was under a tornado or flash flood watch Thursday, and
up to 4 inches of rain were possible. Schools in Livingston Parish,
northwest of New Orleans, were closed because the storms could produce
flooding.
Strong thunderstorms that began late Tuesday socked the
Shreveport-Bossier area in northwest Louisiana, causing widespread
flooding, knocking out electricity, blowing over trees and closing schools.
The rainfall began Tuesday night and broke several records, including
the most rain to fall in a 20-minute interval and the most rainfall in a
three-hour period. More than 10 inches of rain deluged the Shreveport
area, flooding at least 125 homes, officials said.
"I expected rain, but not this much," said Joseph Gardner, of
Shreveport, who had items float from his garage across his front yard on
Wednesday.
There were no reports of any serious injuries.
The weather system that hit south Louisiana toppled trees and washed out
roads. Winds of up to 90 mph stripped roofs from a church in Baker, a
school in Central and the new parish jail in Livingston.
Golf ball-sized hail also was reported as a thunderstorm moved across
southeast Louisiana, said Phil Grigsby, a meteorologist with the
National Weather Service. "It's one of the most intense storms we've had
down here in quite a few years," he said.
More than 20,000 residents in the St. Tammany Parish area were without
power late Wednesday. That number was down to about 12,000 statewide by
Thursday morning, Cleco Corp. spokeswoman Susan Broussard said. The
utility hoped to have electricity restored Thursday, but it also was
receiving reports of new outages after storms rolled across central
Louisiana, she said.
In St. Tammany Parish, there were several reports of flooded roads, and
trees down. "Virtually every major road had trees across it," said Capt.
George Bonnett of the sheriff's office.
Numerous roads were closed in the Shreveport region as well, along with
the gates at Barksdale Air Force Base. Deputies checked houses for
stranded residents in southern Caddo Parish, where floods cut off normal
street access.
Shreveport's director of operational services, Mike Strong, said the
city's drainage system was functioning but was inundated by rain.