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Severe Weather Impacts South Louisiana

State offices and most schools in the New Orleans region closed early Tuesday as forecasters warned of heavy rain and severe thunderstorms.

So far, the most heavily hit areas have primarily been north and east of New Orleans, with tornado touchdowns on the Northshore and around Baton Rouge. Meteorologist Andrew Ansorge with the National Weather Service in Slidell says it’s a little rare to have this strong of a storm this early in the year.

“This is a time of year when we expect to start to see severe weather and a little bit of an uptick along the Gulf Coast, so this isn’t unheard of," Ansorge says. "But the storm prediction center did put us under a moderate risk of severe weather today – they only go up to high risk, so this is just one step below that and the last time that happened was Christmas day of 2012. So it’s been a little while. So it’s a little rare to have this high of a risk of severe weather down on the Gulf Coast.”

He says the worst of it will pass early Tuesday evening, though storms will linger overnight. There are tornado watches in effect for most of southeast Louisiana until 10 p.m.

Support for WWNO's Coastal Desk comes from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Coypu Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation. 

Tegan has reported on the coast for WWNO since 2015. In this role she has covered a wide range of issues and subjects related to coastal land loss, coastal restoration, and the culture and economy of Louisiana’s coastal zone, with a focus on solutions and the human dimensions of climate change. Her reporting has been aired nationally on Planet Money, Reveal, All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Marketplace, BBC, CBC and other outlets. She’s a recipient of the Pulitzer Connected Coastlines grant, CUNY Resilience Fellowship, Metcalf Fellowship, and countless national and regional awards.

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