US weather service says 7 tornadoes in Gulf states, 3 dead

Volunteers Percy Mitchell, left, and Eugene Trice, carry a ladder as they attempt to knock down bricks from the wall of the New Mount Bethel Baptist Church, which suffered weather damage in Kenner, La., Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016. A massive storm system caused damage throughout the region. AP

NEW ORLEANS — The meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service’s southeast Louisiana office says at least seven tornadoes have hit southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi.

Ken Graham said that number includes the one that slammed into a trailer park in Convent, Louisiana, Tuesday, where a sheriff said two people were killed, and one that killed a person near Purvis, Mississippi.

Graham said teams will be sent out in the morning to document the damage and rate the tornadoes.

Severe weather has been moving through southern Louisiana and Mississippi.

Graham said a lightning strike hit the building where the weather service is located in Slidell, knocking out their radar systems and forcing them to go to backup systems.

READ: Tornadoes hit US South, Midwest; storm kills 1 in Arkansas