Severe Storms and Tornadoes Hit Louisiana and Texas, Leaving Trail of Destruction

On Wednesday, severe storms with tornadoes and powerful winds rolled across the eastern part of Texas into Louisiana, leaving at least one person with injury and damaging dozens of homes, tens of thousands of power outages were reported as well.

Due to the event, a disaster declaration was issued by Orange County, Texas, citing "extensive and widespread damage to public and private property."

Drone footage revealed homes severely impacted in Mauriceville town which is about 95 miles northeast of Houston.

Homes in Lake Charles Left in Ruins

The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado touched down South Lake Charles. According to Dick Gremillion, Calcasieu Parish director of emergency management, between 25 and 40 houses were destroyed.

Gremillion told weather.com in a phone conversation late Wednesday afternoon, "I would say 15-20 of those probably have major damage. Most are roof failure."

According to Gremillion, the tornado lasted around two miles on the ground in a neighborhood near the city's airport. When the windows of a building in another section of town flew out, at least one person was hurt.

Over the last year or two, Lake Charles has been hit by extreme weather, including catastrophic flash flooding in May, freezing winter weather in February, and hurricanes Laura and Delta in 2020.

The hurricanes were particularly powerful one-two punch to the area. Blue tarps are still on the roofs of several homes.

Power Restored in Some Regions

According to poweroutage.us, more than 34,000 homes and businesses in Texas were without power as of 4:30 p.m. CDT.

On Wednesday morning, over 90,000 outages were recorded around the state. In Harris County, that figure was around 17,000 people. People in Brazoria, Calhoun, Austin, Chambers, and Orange counties also experienced outages.

On Wednesday afternoon, approximately 20,000 power outages were recorded in Louisiana, virtually all of them in the Lake Charles area. By early evening, the number had reduced by roughly 13,000 people.

Homes Impacted in East Texas

Officials in Newton County, approximately 100 miles northeast of Houston, were analyzing the damage. There were trees fallen and several houses with "moderate" damage, according to a sheriff's office staff.

Several Damage Reports Close to the State Line

Damage was reported in Mauriceville, Texas, near the Louisiana border in Orange County, according to the National Weather Service. There were at least three tornado reports in the area.

A Tornado was also Reported in Louisiana's Beauregard Parish.

Possible Tornado Reported North of Houston

A potential tornado was detected near Spring, roughly 9 miles from George Bush Intercontinental Airport and north of Houston.

According to Harris County Sheriff's Office Ed Gonzalez, at least one property in the neighborhood was damaged when a tree fell on it. There were no reports of death or injury at the time.

Before traveling to the airport, passengers were urged to verify the status of their flight.

The Weather's Destination

According to weather.com senior meteorologist Chris Dolce, the storms will continue to travel over Louisiana, into Mississippi, and then into the Florida Panhandle.

"We're basically just going to see a line of storms that move eastward," Dolce said. "There could be some supercells popping out of it."

More tornadoes and strong winds are also expected.

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