Live updates: Tornado in Slidell, flash flood emergency in New Orleans as storms pound Louisiana (2024)

The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch early Wednesday morning for much of southeast Louisiana, where forecasters said a few tornadoes are "likely" along with scattered hail and gusty winds of up to 80 mph.

The most recently updated watch includesentire New Orleans metro area, St. Tammany Parish and the River Parishes and was extended to 4 p.m.

Here are live updates from across the state.

Tornado causes injuries in Slidell

A tornado touched down in Slidell Wednesday morning, damaging buildings and causing multiple injuries. East central St. Tammany Parish is under a flash flood warning until 2:15 p.m.

Power outages across Louisiana

About 160,000 people across Louisiana were without powerat midday as the strong line of storms move through the state.

Entergy, which accounts for about 1.3 million customers, had about 70,000 without power at around noon. Spokesperson Brandon Scardigli said that strong winds were the main culprit.

The outages were widespread, but there were large pockets of Entergy customers without power in Calcasieu Parish, where about 16,000 were without electricity, as well as East Baton Rouge, with 9,000.

The Entergy New Orleans coverage area had about 780 with no power.

Cleco Power, whose customers mostly are located on the northshore, reported that about 30,000 of its customers were cut off them located in St. Tammany Parish.

See reported outages forEntergyandDEMCOon their websites.

What is a tornado watch?

National Weather Service forecasters issue a tornado watch when tornadoes are possible in a specific but usually fairly large area or region. This is the time to think about and discuss your emergency plans, check supplies and find a safe room.

A tornado warning is issued when a tornado has actually been spotted or indicated by a weather radar, according to the National Weather Service. If a warning is issued, take shelter immediately. Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building and avoid windows.

Here's more on what to do during a tornado watch or warning.

Can't see the module below with all the latest watches and warnings? Click here.

'Flash flood emergency'

A flash flood emergency was issued for New Orleans, Metaire, Kenner and Marrero until 3:45 p.m.

Street flooding was reported on the following roads in New Orleans, according to Streetwise:

• GENTILLY / 610 UNDERPASS
• N TONTI ST / BARRACKS ST
• ALMONASTER AV / HIGGINS BLVD
• CURRAN BLVD / BENSON ST
• 3700 BLK DOWNMAN RD
• N I-10 SERVICE RD / CROWDER BLVD
• I-610 E / GENTILLY BLVD
• 2200 BLK N RAMPART ST
• WILTON DR / WARRINGTON DR
• 4900 BLK LOUISA DR
• LAVENDER ST / CLEMATIS ST
• LEON C SIMON DR / FRANKLIN AV
• GENTILLY BLVD / PARIS AV
• FRANCE RD / OLD GENTILLY RD
• ELYSIAN FIELDS AV / ABUNDANCE ST
• 5000 OLD GENTILLY RD
• CHEF MENTEUR HWY / DOWNMAN RD
• N PETERS ST / SPAIN ST
• OLIVE ST / S CARROLLTON AV
• FRENCHMEN ST / CHARTRES ST
• FIG ST / EARHART BLVD
• 9000 BLK OLD GENTILLY RD
• POYDRAS ST / LA SALLE ST
• BOURBON ST / ST PHILIP ST
• 6000 BLK CHEF MENTEUR HWY
• N RAMPART ST / TOULOUSE ST
• 600 BLK BURGUNDY ST

In St. Tammany, water was ponding on numerous streets and roadways, including U.S. 190 through parts of Covington. Several streets in downtown Covington also had several inches of water. They were still passable, though.

Some ponding was also reported on some roadways in the Slidell area. No roadways have been reported closed in St. Tammany.

The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway was closed at 9:51 a.m. due to high winds and thunderstorms but reopened about an hour later.

St. Tammany Parish has activated its Emergency Operations Center to monitor storm-related problems.

In Jefferson Parish, officials said pumping stations are keeping up, though residents reported some street flooding.

Rainfall in Jefferson Parish just dropped from 2 inches per hour to .5 inches per hour at around 11:30 a.m., officials said, and street flooding typically occurs when rain falls at rates of more than 3 inches per hour.

The parish is setting up barricades along the West Esplanade Canal as a precautionary measure in case the canal overtops west of Causeway Boulevard, though parish officials say that's unlikely.

The parish is on the scene at a 8-foot-wide, 2-foot deep sink hole at Johnson Street and North Arnoult Road that has swallowed the front tire of a vehicle. The occupant is safely out of the vehicle.

River Birch announced plans to pull its garbage trucks off the streets just before 1 p.m., given that many were impassable. Any areas that weren't serviced Wednesday will be serviced on Saturday, the parish said.

River Birch reported that around 80% of the routes were finished on the West Bank and 60% on the East Bank. Areas affected include Waggaman, Avondale, Bridge City and portions of Metairie between Transcontinental and the Kenner line.

Closures ahead of storms

A number of schools and businesses in Orleans and surrounding parishes are closed Wednesday due to inclement weather.

Here's a list of closures by parish.

Neutral ground parking

Neural ground parking is allowed in New Orleans from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday.