MANDEVILLE, La. — Nearly 8,000 customers in Jefferson Parish and about 60 customers in St. Tammany were without power Tuesday night after a strong line of storms ripped from the northshore to the southshore with heavy rains, some hail, and high winds.
Power was restored about 10:00 p.m. Tuesday, Entergy says.
Entergy also said the power outages in Jefferson, were largely in Kenner but also scattered about the east bank and a couple of locations on the west bank. The power company said that additional resources were being brought in and that most customers would have power back by 1 a.m.
In St. Tammany Parish, Cleco said it lost two transmission lines that cost power to 11,000 customers at one point. There were just under 60 remaining without power as of 10 p.m.
The storm system was the first one in a while for southeast Louisiana, which is in the middle of a drought that has seen temperatures regularly climb into triple digits the past three weeks. Almost 20,000 customers lost power in Jefferson Parish after the storms struck south of the lake at approximately 5:30 p.m.
The storms knocked out power and sent trees falling, at least a few into homes, including one on Viola Street in Mandeville. WWL-TV's Eleanor Tabone reported that no one was home at the time of the damaging blow.
Images from Jefferson Parish Councilman Scott Walker showed high winds, some street flooding and downed trees in Kenner. These types of storms are not unusual in southeast Louisiana in the summer, but this year they've been few and far between with rainfall totals for the year about half of what they are during an average year.
The area really needed the rain, but obviously, it would have been preferred if it came without the damage.
Shortly after 6 p.m., the Kenner Police Department tweeted a utility pole had been knocked down along West Esplanade Avenue at Texas Street during the storm. Eastbound traffic is being diverted south at Roosevelt.
Jefferson Parish Councilman-at-large Scott Walker also tweeted images of what he referred to as "minor damage" in North Kenner, such as down limbs and strewn shopping carts.
Jefferson Parish issued a street flooding advisory at 6:40 p.m.
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