Severe Storms, High Winds Rolling in Right as School Lets Out in Acadiana

LAFAYETTE PARISH, La. (KPEL News) - As meteorologists warm of possible severe storms Wednesday afternoon, the timeline of serious weather could impact students and parents trying to get their kids home after school.

According to the National Weather Service, "a low pressure system is strengthening over the southern Plains, which will continue to cause severe weather and flash flooding in the middle and lower Mississippi Valley through tonight."

As of 2:40 p.m. Wednesday, the most serious weather appeared to have passed the Vermilion Parish area and had traveled on toward Baton Rouge.

That storm system is heading northeast, meaning much of the rain will hit all over Lafayette Parish as it moves, and some of the strongest weather could be headed straight for New Iberia.

By 3:30 p.m., much of the region could be seeing rainfall, and some of it heavy. A second patch of severe weather will be heading through the area along the same path later in the afternoon.

But, the bigger worry in some parts of this system is the wind. The National Weather Service stated in its most recent alert that "The main severe thunderstorm threats are tornadoes (a couple of which could be strong), damaging winds, and possibly some hail. In addition to these threats, heavy rainfall could lead to isolated to scattered instances of flash flooding."

KATC has likewise warned that some of the winds in the system could be strong enough to produce tornadoes - something New Iberia has already dealt with once this school year.

With high winds and flash flooding, driving slowly and carefully are encouraged, as is trying to avoid large bodies of standing water on the road.