About an hour after a violent tornado damaged a hospital and homes in New Iberia, Louisiana, the severe weather threat moved into the New Orleans metro area producing at least one confirmed tornado.
A multi-day weather event has created blizzards in the Plains and tornadoes in the South from Texas to Louisiana.
On Wednesday afternoon, there were 15 active Tornado Warnings at one time throughout southeastern Louisiana issued by the National Weather Service.
Soon after, a tornado was spotted on the ground moving through New Orleans, according to a local fire department.
New Orleans is no stranger to destructive tornadoes.
In March, two tornadoes tore through a part of New Orleans, killing a 25-year-old man and leaving a wide path of destruction.
The largest of the two, rated at least an EF-3 by the NWS, was seen as a large, multi-vortex tornado tracking 11 miles into the Arabi and Lower Ninth Ward area.
FOX Weather correspondent Mitti Hicks was in New Orleans when Tornado Warnings began shifting closer. The NWS issued a Tornado Warning for Orleans and Jefferson Parishes just before 4 p.m. CT
Conditions began deteriorating rapidly around Lake Pontchartrain, where Hicks was located. Lightning flashed over the water, and the wind started whipping trees.
“Things have just changed drastically in 20 minutes. You can’t even see about 30 feet ahead of me,” Hicks said.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service office in New Orleans warned residents to get to a safe place and listen for new Tornado Warnings.
WHAT IS A MULTI-VORTEX TORNADO
“If the storm holds together, it may affect the Westbank of Jefferson and the city of New Orleans,” the NWS tweeted after issuing a Warning for Larose.
At least 36 tornadoes have been reported since Tuesday from Oklahoma and Texas eastward to Louisiana and Mississippi, according to the National Weather Service.