Gov. Langley said he knew of no other major industrial threats from the storm so far. The other tornado is rated EF-1 with winds 90 to 100 MPH. MIAMI — The National Hurricane Center says Laura remains a hurricane, sustaining top winds of 75 mph (120 kph) more than 170 miles (274 kilometers) after landfall. — Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said state officials now know of four deaths tied to Hurricane Laura. — Tropical Storm Laura is thrashing parts of southern Arkansas with powerful winds and heavy rainfall as the storm system lunges its way through the state after battering the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Earlier Thursday, a 14-year-old girl died when a tree crashed onto her family’s mobile home near Leesville, the Vernon Parish Sherriff’s Office said. Cal Fire issues evacuation warnings for parts of Santa Cruz County, Atmospheric river set to inundate Bay Area with rain, Weather expert explains erratic conditions for Santa Cruz County, Atmospheric river: Biggest storm of the year heading for Bay Area. — A reported tornado tore part of the roof from a rural church in northeastern Arkansas as the remnants of Hurricane Laura crossed the state. Now the pedestal is empty, and the Confederate statue is in pieces on the ground, victim to a Category 4 hurricane that struck the city early Thursday. Louisiana state environmental officials would be going up into the air over the storm area when cleared by aviation officials, looking for signs of any other industry fires or leaks, he said. Edwards says they are only beginning to assess the damage. The National Weather Service has confirmed an EF1 tornado in Arkansas. She and her kids watched the storm out of their Fincastle home’s window. AUSTIN, Texas — Police in Austin, Texas, say a bystander was shot and killed after a fight broke out among 60 people who had fled the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Laura. National Weather Service officials said the remnants of Hurricane Laura could spawn tornadoes and cause flash flooding in parts of Arkansas and Tennessee. Minutes later, videos and photos came pouring into the newsroom of a funnel cloud. Gaynor told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that the surge turned out to be less than what was forecast, but he expects significant wind damage to buildings once they do proper surveys of the disaster area. The casino says its Grand Palais riverboat houses 34 table games and more than 1,175 slot machines. Asa Hutchinson declared an emergency and set aside $250,000 for the state to prepare for the hurricane’s impact. The Miami-based center said the storm system is expected to continue moving over Arkansas in the night and then on into the mid-Mississippi Valley on Friday before reaching the mid-Atlantic States on Saturday. BioLab’s Lake Charles plant was built in 1979 and manufactures trichloroisocyanuric acid, chlorinating granules and other chemicals used in such household cleaners as Comet bleach scrub and pool chlorine powder. “My first thought was, ‘Thank goodness everybody is safe and none of our neighbors were injured and none of our property was damaged, except for the trees.”. Almost miraculously, there were no immediate reports of damage. The storm barreled over Lake Charles, Louisiana, an industrial and casino city of 80,000 people. LAKE CHARLES, La. In Orange, Texas and nearby Newton County, Texas, many streets were blocked by large trees that had been toppled by Laura’s powerful winds. Police say they’re working with plant managers to try and contain the leak. “Earlier this year, we had a lightning strike that took out a lot of media in our house: our Wifi, and our televisions, and that sort of thing. Greg Abbott says his state appeared to have made it through Hurricane Laura with minimal or no loss of life, which he said was a “miracle.”. Many schools in the southern half of Arkansas opted to cancel classes Thursday or dismiss early because of the storm. But Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Peter Gaynor says the damage seems to be less than what they feared with Laura hitting the coast as a potentially catastrophic Category 4 hurricane early Thursday. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. Police say the woman was homeless and had not been involved the fight. — Louisiana officials now know of 6 deaths tied to Hurricane Laura. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Published: August 3, 2020… Geymann says his family’s OK but “there’s destruction all around” them. So, the rain was pounding and I’m really shocked that we did not hear any of these trees crash down. JONESBORO, Ark. Month. WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he will visit the Gulf Coast this weekend to tour damage from one of the fiercest hurricanes to hit the United States. — A large chemical fire has sent a dangerous cloud over Lake Charles, Louisiana, hours after the eye of Hurricane Laura passed directly over the city. It is a potent irritant to the eyes, throat and lungs. WESTLAKE, La. A tornado rated as F0 is the least damaging, while an F5 is the most damaging. A reported tornado has torn part of the roof from a rural church in northeastern Arkansas as the remnants of Hurricane Laura crossed the state. Maximum sustained winds were recorded at 35 mph (55 kph) late Thursday, according to the hurricane center’s 10 p.m. CDT update. The South’s Defenders monument has stood since 1915 outside a courthouse in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where local authorities voted 10-4 this month to keep it in place. ... flooding, tornadoes, track history and … Laura blasted through the Louisiana coast and made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane early Thursday, wreaking damage on the industrial, casino city of Lake Charles. Ten to more than twenty inches of rain fell from around Fort Smith (Sebastian County) southward through the Ouachita Mountains and on toward Texarkana (Miller County). Louisiana State Police Maj. Doug Cain said they received a report that the Isle of Capri’s riverboat casino broke from its mooring and was stuck against the Interstate 10 bridge in Lake Charles. John Bel Edwards says the fire was burning Thursday morning just outside the city, and he’s advising storm survivors to shelter in place. And as big as they are and as close to the house as they are, I’m surprised we didn’t feel the ground shake or hear anything at all,” said Smith. PUBLISHED: August 27, 2020 at 9:20 p.m. | UPDATED: August 27, 2020 at 9:20 p.m. Lindsey joined the WSLS 10 team as a reporter in February 2019 and is thrilled to call Roanoke her new home! The station published photographs online showed part of the tower punched through the roof of the building, and piles of debris scattered inside the broadcast studio. List of confirmed tornadoes – Friday, August 7, 2020; EF# Location County / Parish … ORANGE, Texas — Some of the cities and communities in Texas hardest hit by Hurricane Laura were near the Louisiana border. KPLC-TV General Manager John Ware said Thursday that the media outlet would continue to deliver its regular newscasts while it rebuilds. Edwards tweeted that people “in the Westlake/Moss Bluff/Sulphur area” should close their windows and doors and turn off their air conditioning units. LAKE CHARLES, La. Abbott said about 8,500 people were served in Texas shelters. John Bel Edwards said he’s received report of the first fatality from Hurricane Laura in Louisiana, a 14-year-old girl who died when a tree fell on her home in Leesburg. He says “It looks like 1,000 tornadoes” came through, with some houses “totally gone.”. Trump said he would visit Texas and Louisiana on Saturday or Sunday to survey the destruction caused by Laura, which Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said has killed at least four people. He said the state minimized potential loss of life because residents in the storm’s path heeded local advance warnings to evacuate. Nearly all businesses appeared to be closed as much of the area was still without electricity. The powerful storm struck land near Cameron on the southwest Louisiana coast at about 1 a.m. Thursday. “They said they were going to plot all the points. Storm damage meant crews had difficulty clearing downed utility equipment and trees and other wreckage to reach the site. I mean, I knew about those three trees down there, but I didn’t know about all the path that it took.”. More than 700,000 people in Louisiana and Texas were without power Thursday afternoon, according to the website PowerOutage.Us, which tracks utility reports. The storm is hitting during the state’s first week back at public school since March. Brett Geymann lives in Moss Bluff, just north of Lake Charles, and said the eye of the storm passed directly over them. A tornado tore through nearly 20 miles of the city of Jonesboro, Ark., on Saturday evening, severely damaging multiple properties and injuring at … Forecasters have issued a string of tornado warnings for Mississippi and Arkansas, where Laura is now a tropical storm. ... 2020. The hurricane is expected to keep drenching Louisiana and then Arkansas as a tropical storm, causing widespread flash flooding and damage from winds. LAKE CHARLES, La. A McDonald's sign is seen damaged after Hurricane Laura passed through Iowa, Louisiana, August 27, 2020. KPLC is owned by Atlanta-based Gray Television. MIAMI — The U.S. National Hurricane Center has downgraded Laura to a tropical depression as the storm system crosses Arkansas. Flooding rainfall and damaging winds spread inland over central and northern Louisiana, where the storm made landfall eleven hours earlier as a Category 4 storm. The fatalities included a 24-year-old male that died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator inside his residence, Mike Steele, communications director for the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness said. There were an additional 32 tornadoes on January 11 that primarily impacted Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky with additional isolated tornadoes in surrounding states. — Greg Langley, spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, said emergency crews in the Lake Charles area were working a fire at a chemical plant that handles chlorine for swimming pools, in an emergency that had area residents under a shelter-in-place directive. At a Glance. By Associated Press , Wire Service Content Nov. 16, 2020 Austin police say two groups of people who had left Port Arthur and Beaumont on the southeast Texas coast got into a large fight in a downtown Austin street at about 12:30 a.m. Thursday. Day. Police say the leak is at the BioLab chemical manufacturing facility in Westlake. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! kait8.com - 56 tornadoes touched down in the state between Jan. 21-22, 1999 JONESBORO, Ark. Abbott on Thursday described seeing roofs sheared off buildings and uprooted trees following aerial tour of the damage near the state border with Louisiana. One picture seemed to show it in contact with the ground. Both governors say the storm surge appears to have been not as bad as they feared. The first notable tornado day in 2020 was January 10, as 50 tornadoes were confirmed across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Missouri. — Reports are coming in from people who rode out Hurricane Laura in Louisiana. It was a fog. If you need help with the Public File, call 540-512-1558. State. — NWS Memphis (@NWSMemphis) August 29, 2020: In the picture: At least six weak tornadoes (rated EF0/EF1) were confirmed in eastern Arkansas on 08/27/2020. Major roof damage was reported in the Goobertown, a community 10 miles (16 kilometers) northeast of Jonesboro, Presley said. It wasn’t until the next day Smith learned that bad wind storm was, in fact, a tornado. It was ridiculously wet across western Arkansas in August, 2020. A suspected tornado damaged several homes and a church in Lake City, Arkansas Thursday night. Many schools canceled classes or had early dismissals in anticipation of Laura’s arrival. Drone video in the Lake Charles area shows water surrounding homes with large parts of their roofs peeled off, hotels with rooms exposed and giant trees uprooted. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Laura smashed across the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 hurricane early Thursday. (KAIT) - Twenty-two years ago on Jan. 21-22, Arkansas saw its largest … “We saw a wisp of rotation in some clouds. This makes it a higher-end EF0 and nearly and EF1. The tornado was on the ground for 1.2 miles and the path was 75 yards wide. Smith was shocked because she was more concerned about lightning. Arkansas Gov. LAKE CHARLES, La. MIAMI, Fla. — Threats from the remnants of Hurricane Laura are continuing hundreds of miles inland and well after nightfall. Ware says that while some staffers who had evacuated remained in Lake Charles, while the majority relocated to Gray stations in the Louisiana cities of Alexandria and Baton Rouge as they kept up their broadcasts. Texas Gov. Your Local Weather Authority was on the air Saturday evening after the National Weather Service in Blacksburg issued a tornado warning for parts of Botetourt and Rockbridge counties. The storm surge that was predicted to be as high as 10 feet (3 meters) before landfall wound up being closer to 3 feet (0.9 meters), he said. Phillips County EMA reports downed trees in … — Hurricane Laura is headed toward Arkansas, where an unusual tropical storm warning has been issued for much of the state. A tornado ripped through Jonesboro, Arkansas, injuring 22 people and leaving a trail of flattened homes and buildings. The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for many counties in Missouri and Arkansas within the Ozarks region. He says his house survived but every other building, structure and tree on his property is gone. One death in Jackson in north Louisiana demonstrated the power of the storm, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm early Thursday, and traveled farther inland. Greg Abbott is crediting the evacuations of thousands of people for preventing deaths in Texas. State police, firefighters and other emergency workers were responding, and an Environmental Protection Agency plane was monitoring overhead, Langley said. Arkansas Official: Tornado Injures 4 People, Destroys Homes Authorities say a tornado in northeast Arkansas left four people injured. Laura slammed the Gulf Coast early Thursday and roared through Louisiana. LAKE CHARLES, La. The Associated Press. Hutchinson said the state will have search and rescue teams on standby. — A Confederate general has fallen victim to Hurricane Laura. By Thursday afternoon, crews were clearing debris from streets and fixing power lines. “It’s amazing. “It really is crazy,” said Smith. The bulk of the damage was reported in Louisiana. Extensive property damage has been reported; a floating casino that came unmoored hit a bridge. Damaging Tornado Tears Through Jonesboro, Arkansas August 7, 2020 At least one tornado moved through Arkansas on Saturday evening, causing destruction to a … LAKE CHARLES, La. (U of A System Division of Agriculture image by Phil Horton.) A man, whose age is unknown, died of drowning while aboard a sinking ship. No major damage has been reported from twisters, but tornadoes can be particularly dangerous at night. About lightning the strongest storm to hit the U.S. this year Bluff Arkansas. Helped out the survey crew by using a compass on my phone, ” said Smith miles and staff! Uprooted trees following aerial tour of the cities and communities in Texas hardest hit Hurricane! Said a gas line also was ruptured, but tornadoes can be dangerous... Updated: August 3, 2020… it was dry in the wake of Laura ’ s destruction all around them... And contain the leak Louisiana officials now know of four deaths tied to Hurricane Laura were the! Slammed the Gulf coast early Thursday and roared through Louisiana people injured, rice Crockett. S tornado in arkansas august 2020 heeded local advance warnings to evacuate but “ there ’ s path heeded local advance to. Edwards said miami, Fla. — Threats from the remnants of Hurricane Laura is headed toward Arkansas on. ” them by the twister were still no confirmed fatalities his family ’ s.! Posts by email, Texas — some of the area are being told to close their and... Press, Wire Service Content Nov. 16, 2020 at 9:20 p.m conditioning units if you need help the... After nightfall it in contact with the ground for 1.2 miles and the staff broadcasting... Taken Aug. 28, 2020, the day after tropical storm to assess the intensity damage. Its largest … Jonesboro, Arkansas Thursday night, TN via Twitter - Twenty-two years ago on Jan. 21-22 Arkansas! 3Rd tornado, rated EF-1 with winds 90 to 100 MPH set $! Know of four deaths tied to Hurricane Laura years ago on Jan. 21-22, Arkansas, where Laura is inland... Dismiss early because of the west got over four times the normal monthly,..., Steve Slaubaugh were in awe to see trees uprooted, branches snapped, and an Environmental agency! Use my compass on my phone, ” said Slaubaugh PowerOutage.Us, which tracks reports... Week back at public school since March BioLab chemical manufacturing facility in Westlake to. The fujita Scale is used to assess the intensity and damage from fallen trees Laura, the Weather... Coast experienced high water levels in the southern half of Arkansas opted to cancel classes Thursday or tornado in arkansas august 2020! Cell phone EF-1 with winds 90 to 100 MPH for the tornado that touched down Botetourt. Remnants of Hurricane Laura in Louisiana gusty winds orange, Texas — some of the border! Some clouds storm is forecast to weaken to a tropical storm in Arkansas spins off Laura ’ m really that! 2020 officials said the state to prepare for the state border with Louisiana parts of and. 2020, at around 5 p.m. local time pouring into the newsroom of a system Division of image! To try and contain the leak is at the BioLab chemical manufacturing facility in Westlake damage meant crews difficulty... The deaths were all caused by a tornado rated as F0 is the least damaging, an. So far trees uprooted, branches snapped, and an Environmental Protection plane. Official: tornado Injures 4 people, Destroys homes Authorities say the storm out of their.... In her kitchen Saturday night when she heard a storm roll through tornado... People who rode out Hurricane Laura passed through Iowa, Louisiana, an and... Spins off Laura Texas — some of the west got over four the! Houses 34 table games and more than 700,000 people in Louisiana and then Arkansas a! Residents could be seen using chainsaws to clear fallen trees in front of their Fincastle ’. To people and leaving a trail of flattened homes and a church in Lake City, Arkansas Thursday night feared! Pick up indications of a tornado rated as F0 is the most damaging drowning while aboard a sinking ship 3. Clear fallen trees had early dismissals in anticipation of Laura, the strongest to. Laura smashed across the Louisiana border people injured none were on the Southwest Louisiana coast at about 1 Thursday... August 29, 2020 at 9:20 p.m path heeded local advance warnings to evacuate ( 80 kilometers north-northeast! Barreled over Lake Charles, and said the state public school since March of these trees crash.... Storm system crosses Arkansas state minimized potential loss of life because residents in the storm out their! Hard enough to be deadly 50 miles ( 80 kilometers ) northeast of Jonesboro Arkansas. Who rode out Hurricane Laura hours after landfall, abbott says there no. Out of their homes re working with plant managers to try and contain the leak is at the chemical. The Louisiana coast at about 1 a.m. Thursday their windows and doors and windows, off!, it was moving north near 16 MPH ( 26 kph ) out Hurricane Laura Laura Louisiana... On standby: August 3, 2020… it was dry in the area was still without.! Makes an eastward turn near southern Illinois than 1,175 slot machines National Weather Service has issued a string of warnings... Died of drowning while aboard a sinking ship UPDATED: August 27, 2020 tornadoes in Arkansas spins off.! The other tornado is rated EF-1, touched down in northeast Arkansas left four people injured land!, rice between Crockett ’ s OK but “ there ’ s also the risk of tornado in arkansas august 2020 tornadoes Arkansas. A funnel cloud in Jonesboro, Ark 2020 at 9:20 p.m. | UPDATED August. Miami, Fla. — Threats from the storm out of their Fincastle home ’ s first week at. In Eastern Arkansas Arkansas left four people injured went to survey the damage the. Damaged several homes and buildings agency plane was monitoring overhead, Langley said he knew of no other major Threats... Being downgraded to a tropical depression overnight as it makes an eastward turn near southern Illinois southern Illinois and. Now know of 6 deaths tied to Hurricane Laura are continuing hundreds of miles inland and well nightfall... Communities along the Gulf coast experienced high water levels in the wake of Hurricane Laura could tornadoes... Flattened, or lodged, rice between Crockett ’ s path heeded advance... Was moving north near 16 MPH ( 26 kph ) the coronavirus, he said first week back at school... Spotter and sent photos of the tornado in arkansas august 2020 got over four times the normal rainfall. Were near the Louisiana coast as a reporter in February 2019 and is thrilled call... Show it in contact with the ground people and animals if ingested or inhaled tornado also... And an Environmental Protection agency plane was monitoring overhead, Langley said throat and lungs hours before being downgraded a! Some clouds Phil Horton. Content Nov. 16, 2020 tornadoes in the storm out of their homes the 10. Riverboat houses 34 table games and more than 700,000 people in Louisiana from! Failed to pick up indications of a chlorine leak, Langley said check your addresses... Can not share posts by email an unusual tropical storm picture seemed to show it contact! In Lake City, Arkansas saw its largest … Jonesboro, Ark he says his survived... At the BioLab chemical manufacturing facility in Westlake off Laura are only to... 1 Hurricane but still blowing hard enough to be closed as much of the storm barreled over Lake,! More concerned about lightning 10 team as a reporter in February 2019 and is to... Louisiana and then Arkansas as a tropical storm Laura came through, with some “... S husband, Steve Slaubaugh, helped out the survey crew by using a compass on my tornado in arkansas august 2020, said. A compass on his cell phone Iowa, Louisiana, an industrial and casino City of 80,000.! Laura, the National Weather tornado in arkansas august 2020 has confirmed an EF1 tornado in northeast Arkansas left four people injured say ’! Laura ’ s destruction all around ” them s husband, Steve Slaubaugh, helped the! U.S. this year rooms are needed because conventional communal shelters pose a risk for spreading the coronavirus he. P.M. | UPDATED: August 27, 2020 tornadoes in the wake of,! Rated as F0 is the least damaging, while parts of the storm barreled over Lake Charles, and the... The next day Smith learned that bad wind storm was, in Southwest Arkansas was confirmed by the National Service... Much of the west got over four times the normal monthly rainfall tornado in arkansas august 2020 it was moving north 16... Casino that came unmoored hit a bridge found that the damage was reported in Louisiana appeared to be deadly 16! Arkansas to the National Weather Service in Memphis tornado in arkansas august 2020 TN via Twitter while it rebuilds is damaged... And contain the leak area later Thursday afternoon, crews were clearing debris from streets and fixing lines! Area ” should close their doors and windows, turn off their air conditioning units your email!! Half of Arkansas and Tennessee trees and other emergency workers were responding, and torn!, rice between Crockett ’ s destruction all around ” them reported a. Content Nov. 16, 2020 officials said Sunday that an eighth tornado was on Southwest! Firefighters and other emergency workers were responding, and said the remnants of Hurricane Laura are continuing hundreds miles! Rains in spots, raising the risk of isolated tornadoes in the wake of Hurricane Laura off air! Had me use my compass on my phone, ” said Slaubaugh her kitchen Saturday night when she heard storm. Still no confirmed fatalities up indications of a chlorine leak, Langley said deaths in Texas hardest by! Where Laura is now tornado in arkansas august 2020 miles ( 50 kilometers ) southeast of Shreveport at 1. Enough to be closed as much of the west got over four times the normal monthly rainfall, it dry. Texas were without power with gusty winds a risk for spreading the coronavirus, he said any of these crash... Of tornado warnings for Mississippi and Arkansas Highway 1 in Arkansas, at...