Many in East and West Feliciana parishes spent the weekend finalizing cleanup from a dangerous storm that hit the area Wednesday, April 10.

Schools were closed Wednesday due to predictions of heavy rain and high winds. Those reports came true as winds clocking in at 60 mph were reported in some places.

The National Weather Service confirmed tornado damage north of St. Francisville. The reported damage is "consistent with at least an EF-1 tornado," the agency said in a post on X.

The storm resulted in power outages in both parishes, forcing schools to close in both East and West Feliciana. In East Feliciana, students were expected to return Monday and West Feliciana students returned Tuesday — a professional development day for teachers was already planned for Monday, Superintendent Hollis Milton said.

West Feliciana students worked remotely on Friday, a school district spokesperson said.

Milton said the combination of trees down, unsafe roads, widespread power outages and the time needed to get school services back on line was too much to open schools any sooner.

He said a lot of trees were knocked down in West Feliciana and several on school grounds. The only school facility to suffer tree damage was an old elementary school that services as a student activity center and much of that building is likely to stay closed for awhile.

As bad as predicted

The National Weather Service confirmed tornado damage north of St. Francisville on Wednesday.

Officials reported downed trees, snarled power lines, damaged roofs and hurled debris, leading to road closures and other disruptions.

Downed trees blocked access to the entrance of Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge on Tunica Street and trees were snapped in Parker Park.

Multiple downed trees and power lines, as well as off-road repair work that had to be conducted in dense woods, slowed the restoration of power in East and West Feliciana parishes, DEMCO and Entergy officials said.

At 2 p.m. Friday, the total number of households without power in West Feliciana, for customers of both utilities, was 3,846. In East Feliciana, the total number of those without electricity numbered 2,749.

The EF1 tornado that struck West Feliciana tore through the parish "around Tunica and Rosedown Plantation, impacting a 20-mile stretch of infrastructure," DEMCO said in a news release.

"Large trees and 75-mph winds brought down massive electric infrastructure, necessitating the installation of new poles, lines and transformers" in both of the Felicianas, DEMCO said.

The company, the largest provider of electricity in the parishes, said that at one point, all of its customers in West Feliciana Parish were without power.

"Damage assessment revealed more than 100 broken poles, including transmission and distribution poles, lines, and transformers," DEMCO said. "Crews are also working to restore 146 meters in the Greensburg area of East Feliciana."

Entergy said Friday morning that crews had been able to "successfully energize two of three substations" that serve the two parishes and were working Friday to restore the one serving the Clinton area.

The crews are facing saturated ground and dense woods that are slowing restoration work, Entergy said in a news release.

Along U.S. 61 near St. Francisville, multiple large trees had fallen, some of them tangling up power lines. The damage was noticeably worse on the north end of town.

Myrtles dodges major damage

Drew Cantwell, manager of The Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, said his team was working to clean up trees and limbs that came down. He said it was one of the worst storms the popular tourist attraction had seen in years.

"Luckily, the house did really, really well," Cantwell said. "It dodged any major damage.

However, some of the famous oak trees on the site, which are estimated to be 200 years old or older, were damaged.

"Unfortunately, you can't just buy a new one of those," Cantwell said.

Workers at St. Francisville's Audubon Veterinary Hospital could be seen cleaning damage from around a half dozen fallen trees and limbs. The crew used an excavator to clean up the large debris that appeared to have missed the facility's main building but did significant damage to two vehicles on the property and the hospital's animal run.

At Pat's Home Center, workers were clearing out the parking lot of debris, including tree stands and barbecue pits. A manager said it was not certain when power would be restored.