Storms bring heavy rain, hail to Bogalusa

Washington Parish's dry spell was brought to a halt Thursday afternoon as a 70-mile long band of thunderstorms started moving through the parish.

Hail from Austin Street
(Photo by John H. Walker) 

In addition to rain, coming down in veritable sheets at time, hail up to one-half inch in size, peppered the Bogalusa and Varnado area about 4 p.m.

And while the rain was at its heaviest, a tornado was spotted west of Bush along Highway 40 — in the area of the Isabel Swamp cutoff. A second tornado was reported east of Bush and a third was reported in the Lacombe area, according to the National Weather Service.

The heavy rainfall overloaded Bogalusa's drainage system, although streets like North Border Drive, which traditionally took on more of a lake appearance than a street following rainfall of almost any amount, drained in a more normal fashion after city workers had cleared paths to and around drains.

One street that didn't drain well, though, was Virginia between Louisiana Avenue and North Columbia. That street was more like a lake as vehicles persisted in tackling the water, rather than driving another block to avoid the risk of flooding out.

Looking more like a lake than a city street, water covers Virginia Avenue between Louisiana Avenue and North Columbia following Thursday's deluge. (Photo by John H. Walker)

(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.com)