Flooding continues in Louisiana

A third day of drenching storms loomed Thursday over water-logged portions of Louisiana, threatening to overwhelm drainage systems and strip more roofs off buildings.

Up to four inches of rain were projected Thursday, and several parishes remained under flash flood watches, flood warnings or tornado watches, according to the National Weather Service.

The rainfall began Tuesday night and broke several records, including the most rain to fall in a 20-minute interval and the most rainfall in a three-hour period. More than 10 inches of rain deluged the Shreveport area, flooding at least 125 homes, officials said.

"I expected rain, but not this much," said Joseph Gardner, of Shreveport, who had items float from his garage across his front yard on Wednesday.

There were no reports of any serious injuries.

The weather system that hit south Louisiana toppled trees and washed out roads. Winds of up to 90 mph stripped roofs from a church in Baker, a school in Central and the new parish jail in Livingston.

Golf ball-sized hail also was reported as a thunderstorm moved across southeast Louisiana, said Phil Grigsby, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "It's one of the most intense storms we've had down here in quite a few years," he said.

More than 20,000 residents in the St. Tammany Parish area were without power late Wednesday. Officials said it expected to have the utilities restored by Thursday.

In St. Tammany Parish, there were several reports of flooded roads, and trees down. "Virtually every major road had trees across it," said Capt. George Bonnett of the sheriff's office.

Numerous roads were closed in the Shreveport region as well, along with the gates at Barksdale Air Force Base. Deputies checked houses for stranded residents in southern Caddo Parish, where floods cut off normal street access.