What's closed after the storms in Shreveport, Bossier City

Makenzie Boucher, Shreveport Times
Updated ·3 min read

Winds up to 80 miles per hour hit the Shreveport-Bossier area early Friday morning.

According to the National Weather Service, the storm began about 1:30 a.m. Friday, June 16, and ended a little after 2 a.m. With that storm came strong straight-line winds that measured up to 80 miles per hour.

"We had a very severe thunderstorm," Chris Nuttall with the National Weather Service said. "The Port reported 70 miles per hour, Shreveport Regional Airport 57, Barksdale Air Force Base 56 and the Shreveport Downtown Airport. It's pretty widespread."

With these high winds, the Shreveport-Bossier experienced a large number of trees and powerlines down. Right now, 74,761 Caddo Parish residents are without power, according to Southwestern Electric Power Co. Bossier has 55,834 residents without power and DeSoto Parish has 9,875 residents without power.

Trees down in South Highlands neighborhood in Shreveport, Louisiana. Following Severe Thunderstorm Friday morning. June 16, 2023.
Trees down in South Highlands neighborhood in Shreveport, Louisiana. Following Severe Thunderstorm Friday morning. June 16, 2023.

The power outage has resulted in closures in the Shreveport-Bossier area. Here are just a few:

Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport

Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport released this statement:

"Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport clinic and outpatient services will be delayed today due to extended power outages across the area. We will be following up with specific clinic updates and information about any closures."

For the most timely information about closures at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport visit its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OchsnerLSUHealthShreveport/.

Shreveport Department of Water and Sewerage

The City of Shreveport announced Friday morning that the payment center for the Department of Water and Sewerage is closed today.

According to the Mayor's Office customers can make payments online at www.shreveportlawater.gov, or at a 3rd party location. W& S emergencies, please email at ws_dispatchers@shreveportla.gov.

Shreveport Public Assembly and Recreation

According to the Mayor's Office, all events (including summer camp) have been canceled and will resume on Tuesday, June 20.

Essential workers in Shreveport are working to clean up the city, following the Mayor's Office declaring this storm a weather emergency.

Bossier City Parks and Recreation

Bossier City Parks and Recreation announced Friday morning that parks in Bossier City are closed due to damage from the storm.

"Our number one priority is always the safety of our patrons," said Clay Bohanan, Director of Bossier City Parks and Recreation.

Mike Woods Park and Hooter Park are closed due to downed trees and loss of power.

According to Parks and Recreation, the pools also are closed because they cannot operate without power. Bohanan said that he regrets any problems that this may cause for any pre-scheduled events, but this decision had to be made in the interest of safety so that no patron or visitor would be injured due to the unsafe conditions.

"With the power outages widespread, it's going to take a while for places to get the power back up which means no air conditioning," Nuttall said. "Folks really need to make an effort to try to stay cool, drink lots of fluids. If you don't have power, don't have air conditioning, try to get someplace where you're at least in the shade."

The Shreveport-Bossier is under a heat advisory with temperatures getting between 105-110 degrees. Storms are expected to make their way back into northwest Louisiana later today into Sunday.

More: Here are 5 tips for Louisiana drivers to protect their identity after the MOVEit attack

Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Here's what you need to know about last night's storms in northwest Louisiana