Tornado tears through Keithville, Louisiana, leaves 3 dead, including mother, child

Tragedy hit Tuesday night in Louisiana as a potential tornado tore through the village of Keithville, killing three people—including a little boy and his 30-year-old mother, who was at first reported missing.

The missing woman was discovered dead at 2:27 in the morning in Keithville’s Pecan Farms neighbourhood, only one street over from where her home had been demolished, according to the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office.

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The sheriff’s office claimed that an 8-year-old boy was found dead in a forested area near Pecan Farms, where the home was destroyed, following a large search for a missing child and mother. Volunteers, K-9 teams, firefighters, and deputies continued to comb through the rubble looking for the mother.

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She was discovered among tornado-related wreckage. First responders continue to keep looking for unidentified victims, the sheriff’s office said. Nobody else related to the storm has been reported missing.

According to KTAL, when the storm passed through the remote village at around 5 p.m. CST, 20 to 30 homes were damaged and a number of other homes were destroyed.

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A massive severe weather outbreak that was spreading east across the United States, causing tornadoes in the southern states and blizzard-like conditions from the Midwest to the northeast, included the devastating tornado in Louisiana.

Five tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down earlier in the day by the National Weather Service near Fort Worth, Texas, but there may have been a dozen.

Also Read: Millions in central U.S. brace for snow, rain and floods

More than a dozen states in the central United States have seen substantial, widespread risks as a result of the storms, which were a component of a bigger weather system. Blizzard conditions struck several states as heavy snow, sleet, and ice fell in parts of the Plains and Upper Midwest.

On Wednesday, the Louisiana Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning, including a tornado warning, for sections of the state that are near to the Mississippi border. There were also tornado warnings in place for a number of areas in Louisiana.

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According to scientists, the frequency or intensity of tornadoes are not yet linked to climate change. There is little historical data on the frequency of tornadoes because they are comparatively transient weather phenomenon. Before they can establish a causal relationship, scientists need at least 40 years of weather data.