Storms damage New Orleans buildings, cut power
NEW ORLEANS — A strong storm cell that produced a funnel cloud, a large number of lightning strikes, heavy winds and rain downed power lines and trees throughout the metro area, knocking out power to more than 25,000 homes and cutting off some rush hour driving routes.
A home collapsed near the intersection of St. Philip and North Claiborne Avenue and another building was down near the corner of North Claiborne Avenue and Ursulines.
City officials reported that other buildings in the area were damaged as well.
New Orleans EMS transported two patients with minor injuries related to the damaged houses. Firefighters, who made quick inspections of the downed homes, don't believe that anyone was inside the buildings.
Police were helping the National Weather Service assess the damage to determine whether it was caused by a tornado or by straight-line winds.
"This was a bad storm," said Ken Graham, chief meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Slidell. "We reached 97 degrees. When that happens, we didn't have a lot of storms this morning to keep us capped. We got a buildup over that 97-degree air. All of that heat rises rapidly and that cold air at the top collapses down to the ground and spreads out. That's what happened."
Power lines were down on St. Bernard Avenue, closing much of that span near the central business district, while downed trees on Esplanade between Marais and Villere cut off access to that route, according to city officials.
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