At least three people were injured as extreme weather events struck the state of Louisiana, Wednesday night, and more is forecast for surrounding states through the coming week.
A tornado was observed traveling through the Tangipahoa Parish in Louisiana shortly after sunset Wednesday night, devastating some parts of the parish, but not claiming any lives, according to Fox Weather. More storms and severe weather are expected throughout the state, across the South and all the way to the Upper Midwest on Thursday and into the weekend.
The National Weather Service’s New Orleans account told residents in Tangipahoa to take shelter immediately as radars confirmed a tornado traveling north in the area.
Another video of the Tangipahoa tornado. You can see some horizontal vortices wrapping into the parent circulation . This wasn’t just your normal spin up. 🎥 Lacey Kent #lawx @FOX8NOLA pic.twitter.com/rpmtlwQVVh
— Zack Fradella (@ZackFradellaWx) February 9, 2023
“Thankfully, there were no serious injuries. We’ve had so far, as the first responders are going through the area looking for damage and for people. There are some children in a trailer that was overturned and destroyed. They were fine,” Tangipahoa Parish President Robby Miller said in a statement to the outlet, adding that they were transported to a local hospital.
Some five million Americans are currently under a tornado watch as of early Thursday morning, while parts of Texas and Missouri are reporting damage from large hail, high winds, and at least one other tornado, Fox Weather continued. Individual supercells are expected to organize into a single stream of thunderstorms Thursday, impacting much of southern Alabama, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. (RELATED: Dayton, Ohio, Breaks Snowfall Record As Winter Storms Batter US)
Further north, a storm will move into the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes, bringing heavy snow that is expected to impact travel across a majority of northern states, the National Weather Service noted in a tweet.