Multiple Authorities In Caddo, DeSoto Parishes Report Significant Damage From Thursday Storm

Teams from the National Weather Service Office here in Shreveport, the local American Red Cross chapter and the DeSoto Parish Sheriff's Office are all out today, assessing damage from yesterday's severe storms.

NWS Hydrologist C.S. Ross tells KEEL News he was on Barron Road, right in the thick of all the mess.  "I estimated winds at least 70 miles per hour, and I observed on Barron Road -- which is the very south part of Caddo Parish, right next to Wallace Lake -- numerous trees down onto power lines, bringing them down," Ross says.  He says he also saw a manufactured home split into thirds as two trees fell onto it.

He says he got reports of up to baseball-sized hail in the area.  "I can attest to that.  My car is completely full of hail dents."

DeSoto Parish was also hard-hit.  Sheriff's Office Liaison Jenny Reynolds tells us there are a lot of homes with significant damage.  "A handful of homes that I would consider severely damaged, and probably close to another hundred that have some level of minor damage," she says.

Reynolds says that damage was from a combination of the strong winds and large hail.  She's reporting up to half-dollar-sized ice chunks, which accumulated between 8 and 12 inches in some places.  There's no word on when SWEPCO will be able to restore power, but we're hearing that some folks might be in the dark until 5 this evening.

Reynolds suggests, for those who are able, to check the DeSoto Sheriff's Office Facebook page for any updates.  "The Command Post is constantly putting updated information on there for the public," she says.

In the meantime, the local American Red Cross chapter is out helping residents in the affected areas.  "We have both of our Emergency Response Vehicles [out]," says Assistant Director Michelle Davison.  "One is handling Caddo Parish, the other is handling DeSoto Parish.  And they're going to be distributing things like the comfort kits, clean-up kits, water."

Davison says there's also a shelter set up at Grace Community Church on Ellerbe Road.  Only four people stayed there overnight, but she's already heard from several families requesting shelter for this evening. 

The photo gallery is of a tree that fell on a house in Greenwood.