(Updated) Storm causes power outages in Patterson

PATTERSON—The afternoon thunderstorm passing through Patterson today left residents without power and with some flooding issues.

According to the radar, Patterson received 3 to 4 inches of rain, said National Weather Service meteorologist Tim Humphrey. But the nearby reporting station recorded less than 1/4 inch of rain.

A total of 620 lightning strikes occurred from 4 to 6 p.m., Jones said. And 600 of those strikes appeared during the first hour of the storm. Most of the lightning strikes were west of Morgan City.

“The storm itself was fairly typical for a summertime thunderstorm,” Jones said. “There wasn’t anything particularly severe about it, other than you did have a lot of lightning with it.”

Cleco reported 2,300 outages in Patterson.

“In the area, we had about 2,300 customers out at one time,” said Cleco spokesperson Robbyn Cooper. “And now, we have right at 2,200 restored.

“Approximately, 100 customers are without power due to an accident that occurred on Victoria Riverside Road in Patterson. There was an automobile accident. The car hit a pole.”

Three crews are working on the line right now. Restoration is expected to occur within a maximum time of three hours, Cooper said.

The Cleco outage map listed the restoration time as 9:33 p.m.

“We had a lot of flooding,” said Patterson Police officer Samantha Mincey. “I know that the city was out making sure that the pumps were pumping and getting the flooding under control.”

Mike and Camille Drive experienced flooding, which is typical during heavy rains, said Mayor Rodney Grogan. Water levels were merging with the front doors of two homes in the area. Unfortunately, spectators in cars passing by did not help the situation.

“We had more problems with people trying to get over there to sightsee pushing more water into the homes,” Grogan said.

No injuries or major damage have been reported.