BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – A line of severe weather moved through the WAFB viewing area Wednesday evening, prompting multiple tornado warnings and leaving thousands without power, along with reports of downed trees.
RELATED: FIRST ALERT: Tornado Watch in effect until 2 AM Thursday
In Pointe Coupee Parish, Sheriff Renee Thibodaux said storms brought down the main transmitting line for Pointe Coupee Electric, adding to the number of outages. Thibodaux reported six trees down across roadways and two power lines with trees across them. The sheriff also said a tree fell on a house on State Road in Batchelor, but no one was home at the time.
In Tangipahoa Parish, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office reported downed trees across roads in the following locations:
- Highway 10 at River Road in Roseland
- I-55 southbound at mile marker 43
- J.T. Connerly Road and Highway 1061
- Commercial Street and Roseland Avenue
- Highway 51 and Arcola Road
In St. Helena Parish, Roderick Matthews, the parish’s director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said officials are assessing damage and managing road obstructions following reported tornado activity in the northern and southeastern parts of the parish.
Matthews said the following roads were impassable or restricted due to downed trees:
- Fire Tower Road
- Ard Road
- Highway 38 (at Wells Cemetery Road)
- Oral Stewart Lane
- Rohner Road
- Brumfield Lane
- Leon Brown Lane
Matthews said there was one confirmed report of a tree falling on a mobile home, and the residents were confirmed safe and accounted for. He said public works crews are clearing roads, but officials are monitoring the possibility of a second round of storms.
In East Baton Rouge Parish, the Central Fire Department said much of Central was without power as of about 8:30 p.m., with a few trees down reported in the area.
In West Feliciana Parish, the parish Emergency Management reported widespread power outages.
As of 9 p.m., WAFB Chief Meteorologist Steve Caparotta said the main threat to the viewing area had subsided.
Residents are urged to use caution around downed trees and power lines and to report outages and storm damage to local authorities and their utility provider.
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