NEW ORLEANS — As severe weather sweeps the state, many areas across Louisiana were impacted by heavy flooding.
Later this afternoon (May 18), Governor John Bel Edwards will discuss the severe weather and flooding in Southwest Louisiana as well as the weather forecast across the state for the rest of the week.
That meeting will be at the operations center within the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. It will begin at 3:30 p.m. and coverage is available on WGNO.com.
After taking several hits from the 2020 hurricane season, Lake Charles experienced heavy flooding on May 17 due to the storms. A portion of Downtown Lake Charles near Bank St. was completely flooded with the water rising over some cars.
In Lafayette, areas that normally do not have flood problems experienced heavy flooding with this storm. Traffic-heavy Johnston St. near Camellia Blvd. slowed down drivers Monday evening as water bogged down roadways and stalled some cars.
Just north of Lafayette, in St. Landry Parish, a driver captured a tornado on camera ripping through a field in Pecaniere. The area near Arnaudville is mostly rural farmland and the driver says the tornado broke up before it could leave the field. Parish officials have not reported any injuries.
In Baton Rouge, the WVLA newsroom was busy trying to divert water from getting into the studio. As Chief Meteorologist Jesse Gunkel was updating viewers, floodwater began seeping into the studio and weather lab. The water eventually receded without causing too much damage.