Severe weather causes damage in Ascension Parish – Donaldsonville Chief

Staff Report| Donaldsonville Chief

Severe weather passed through the Ascension Parish and south Louisiana areas in the early morning hours of April 10.

Police closed a portion of Airline Highway in Ascension Parish and diverted traffic to Old Perkins Road and Highland Road in East Baton Rouge Parish. Electrical transmission towers were toppled in the area near the parish line.

Also, damage was reported throughout the St. Amant area after severe weather passed in the morning.

In the central portion of the state, one person was killed and seven were injured after a tornado touched down in St. Landry Parish. The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado in the Palmetto area was either an EF2 or EF3 with 130 mile-per-hour winds.

Reports identified the deceased as Jose Higareda, 27, who was born in California, but lived most of his life in Mexico. According to a family member, he had moved to Palmetto in January to be a crawfish farmer.

Late April 9, the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch through 7 a.m. the following day for Ascension, Assumption, Iberville, St. James, St. John the Baptist, and St. Tammany parishes. It also included parts of Mississippi.

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Severe weather causes damage in Ascension Parish - Donaldsonville Chief