As expected, strong thunderstorms made their way into Acadiana during the morning hours of Christmas Eve. Several tornado warnings were issued as the squall line pushed through. Many of the tornadic thunderstorms developed just ahead of the main squall line which was something I was looking out for, and mentioned yesterday in the blog.
So far this morning we have about eight unofficial reports of tornadoes. The first report came from Acadia Parish just north of Crowley. Around 7:35am, the Atwood Acres subdivision saw damage to a number of homes. No injuries were reported. Not long after that report, we received word that a possible tornado damaged a house and barn near Iota. Just five minutes later the Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office reported a pair of tornadoes heading north on Highway 13. Another storm was reported near Gueydan at 8:00am with damage to a building possibly trapping one person. In Church Point at 8:45, we received a report of a tornado tearing the roof off a house. Near Whiteville in St. Landry Parish a church was blown off of its foundation, also numerous trees were reported down near the Lebeau community. Yet again a report of a tornado in Acadia Parish near the town of Iota where there was damage to another home. In Scott we received word of a tree that had fallen on a home due to high winds. Not long after that report, we received word from authorities there that a man had died in the home. It appeared that the man was sleeping when the tree fell. 44 year old Ryan Hebert of Scott was pronounced dead at the scene. All of the areas that experienced damage were under warnings before the storms hit. National Weather Service survey teams will be out today to determine what areas officially experienced tornadoes, and how strong they were.
Click the picture above to open a new page with damage pictures sent in to us by you, our viewers. I’ll be away for a while over the holidays. Prayers go out to those suffering from the storms today. Hopefully everyone has a wonderful and safe Christmas. See you in 2010.
StormTeam3 Meteorologist Dave Baker
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