Videos, Photos Show Damage as South Louisiana Residents Describe Possible Tornado

South Louisiana residents woke up to a scene of chaos and destruction early this morning, following what many believe to be a tornado that ripped through the area overnight. Social media lit up with posts from locals sharing videos, photos, and personal accounts of the intense weather event that left a trail of damage in its wake.

Amy Breaux, a Youngsville resident, posted a chilling video from inside her home near Savoy Road around 3 am on Sunday (6/2). The video captures the unmistakable sounds of what she believes was a tornado.

Similarly, Ginger Barras shared footage of downed power lines as she headed into Delcambre, illustrating the storm's widespread impact.

Ronnie Stelly says he's been through "15 hurricanes, at minimum," and this "was the scariest thing" he's ever experienced when it comes to bad weather.

Stelly shared an image of what could have been the suspected tornado, which doesn't look small at all.

KLFY Meteorologist Trevor Sonnier says what residents believed to be a possible tornado in the area may have been a microburst (or a downburst). Of course, the image hasn't been confirmed to be from the Lafayette area, nor does it mean another tornado could have possibly formed in another location if the photo were indeed real.

Regardless of the technicalities surrounding the weather event, many locals had homes, shops, and property destroyed. Feran Bagley says her uncle's house down Guillot Road in Youngsville is "gone" after the apparent tornado. Fortunately, once he heard the noise, her uncle could seek shelter under a backhoe tractor.

Chelsi Poirrier, also from Youngsville, admitted she and her family slept through the chaos. "My whole family slept through whatever went on out there," she wrote, highlighting the sudden and unexpected event.

Reports of power lines and trees down were widespread. Jessica Landry Lemaire mentioned significant damage on Jefferson Island off Lake Peigneur Road in New Iberia. Meanwhile, Jennifer Landry from Erath described the experience as "scary."

In New Iberia, Shannon Hayes Guzman was awakened by the severe weather. "The weather woke me up! Scary sounding! Everything okay here. No phone weather alerts whatsoever. Must have come up quickly! Prayers for Coteau/Youngsville/Maurice areas," she shared, echoing the sentiments of many who were caught off guard.

JoAnn Baudoin recounted her harrowing experience around 2:30 AM. "The wind, the rain, and flashes of lightning outside my window! The lights went out again for an hour! But we didn’t need them because the sky was lit up with the flashes of lightning! I’ve never seen something like that before!" she exclaimed.

South of Youngsville, Kaitlynn A. Lovelady reported hail the size of quarters and downed oak trees. Despite the damage, she noted, "We surprisingly have power."

Delcambre saw significant outages, with Tricia Reed attributing the power loss to a tornado. Similarly, Ashley Phillips confirmed a tornado hit the area, causing considerable damage to houses.

In Maurice, Rebecca Fulcher Miller reported, "Our neighbor has a tree on their house." Courtney Lane in south Youngsville confirmed, "Definitely a tornado off Guillot. Lots of trees down and damage."

Residents across the region shared similar stories of destruction. The accounts were numerous and harrowing from snapped poles in south Youngsville to ferocious storms in New Iberia. "It sounded like a train," Krystal Meyers Muller described the storm in Youngsville/Maurice.

Mayor Ken Ritter of Youngsville expressed relief that the situation wasn't worse. "While we have poles and trees down in a few areas south of the city, and a house being framed collapsed, we're unaware of any other structural damage. Our priority now is to ensure that the neighborhoods still without power get their service restored as quickly as possible," he said.

Youngsville Councilman and Firefighter Lindy Bolgiano reminded residents to stay prepared. "The weather has been relentless, and we want to remind everyone to have a plan in the event of power outages. We know utility crews are doing their best to minimize downtimes and restore service as quickly as possible. Stay safe and prepared," Bolgiano advised.

As South Louisiana begins cleaning up and assessing the damage, we will continue to provide necessary updates and resources.