Severe storms and a confirmed tornado struck Tangipahoa Parish Monday, leaving thousands without power and causing significant damage across the area.
Randall Johnson, a Hammond native who works on cars, said he witnessed a funnel cloud forming during his workday.
“I like to watch the weather, especially bad weather, just in case something like this would have happened, and I actually got to experience it,” Johnson said.
He said high winds prompted his coworkers to shut the garage doors at work, but his curiosity led him outside to watch the storm. He ended up capturing video of the moment a funnel cloud formed in the sky and shared the footage with WDSU.
“They scare me a little bit, but they’re really beautiful in my opinion,” Johnson said. “It’s a form of Mother Nature that not everyone gets to see, and I was very excited to see one finally.”
A nearby advertising business and a school along Robin Hood Drive reportedly sustained the brunt of the damage, according to Tangipahoa Parish officials. The National Weather Service said Monday after assessing the area, a tornado definitely touched down.
A WDSU crew saw standing water in a neighborhood off Happywoods Road in Hammond; it reached above ankle depth. Our team saw residents driving through the water to access their homes. As of Monday afternoon, several families said they were without power.
Tangipahoa Parish officials confirmed that thousands of residents were without electricity as of Monday night.
“It was due to a downed main feeder line that was knocked down by some trees across the road and took out that feeder line, and bringing in some extra contractors to come and fix that,” Tangipahoa Parish Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Dawson Primes said on the phone.
An Entergy spokesperson wrote in an email that crews were on the scene Monday working to restore power “As quickly and safely as possible.” The company’s online outage map will be updated as repairs are completed.
“Everybody stay safe out there,” Johnson said.
READ MORE:Tornado and storms leave thousands without power in Tangipahoa Parish
