At least 1 killed, 9 injured by likely tornado NW of Lafayette

CHURCH POINT, La. (WAFB) - Severe storms struck southwest and central Louisiana late Sunday, May 17 with several reports of tornadoes touching down in the region. One person was reportedly killed in the Acadia Parish community of Church Point when a likely tornado flipped a mobile home just after 8:30 p.m. Sunday evening. At least 9 others were reportedly injured in that storm.

DOWNLOAD the WAFB First Alert Weather app

Radar shows the deadly storm system at the time of impact.(WAFB)

The deadly storm in Acadia Parish was the culmination of a very active day in the region that was a bit of a surprise to forecasters. The severe weather and tornadoes occurred on the backside of an upper-level low moving through Louisiana, a region that doesn't typically favor tornadic development. The unusual setup was noted by NWS Lake Charles Meteorologist Tim Humphrey who posted a graphic showing that the storms producing the tornado warnings were moving from the northwest at a rapid pace, an uncommon track for tornado-producing storms in the region.

As others have pointed out, today has been a unique setup to be having tornado producing storms in the Lake Charles CWA. One way this is displayed is through the storm motions from today's tornado warnings. pic.twitter.com/GvI02xREwm
— Tim Humphrey (@WxTimH) May 18, 2020

Other tornadoes were spotted in the region earlier in the day, included one that was filmed over the Sabine Wildlife Refuge in Cameron Parish.

NEW VIDEO: Large tornado spotted over Sabine Refuge in Cameron Parish around 6:00PM. Taken by Zachary Hebert (posted with permission). This storm is no longer a threat to Cameron and has moved into the Gulf of Mexico. pic.twitter.com/BaOZ8KAOSy
— Ben Terry (@BenTerryKPLC) May 17, 2020

Another was spotted in the Evangeline Parish community of Mamou.

Incredible footage of Mamou tornado this evening touching the ground! Video courtesy of Jessica Rodriguez Foret! Downed trees, roof damage, patio covers flung but fortunately no reports of injuries at this time. #LAwx pic.twitter.com/rdeM3q2cFE
— Rob Perillo (@robperillo) May 18, 2020

As of Monday morning, the National Weather Service in Lake Charles said they planned to survey some of the tornado damage, but had yet to outline exactly which areas would be covered.

Click here to report a typo.