Kenner, Louisiana Is Having Some Electrical Issues

The weather-related videos from across the south are pouring in, and one of the more electrifying pieces of content is from Kenner, Louisiana where power lines are starting to look like they’re straight out of Back to the Future. Reporter Christina Watkins of WDSU in New Orleans shared the video of what Twitter power line experts are calling a “line contact flashover.”

“The plasma breaks down the air which then becomes a conductor rather than an insulator,” Twitter expert Calgary Schmooze explained. “The feeder hasn’t tripped so the fault keeps being fed with energy.”

Another Twitter expert, Fraud Wave, chimed in with further explanation: “Recloser downstream sees fault current as load and keeps stepping up or it’s seeing a temporary fault and is trying to reneergize the line. Either way there’s a fault somewhere wether it’s overcurrent on the O.R. or a branch laid across the phases somewhere etc.”

MY GOODNESS! Look at this video from Chris Fitzmorris in Kenner 😳😳😳😳 @wdsu pic.twitter.com/TOXx9qptYb

— Christina Watkins (@CWatkinsWDSU) February 15, 2021

Kenner has been seeing a mix of ice and rain as Winter Storm Uri rockets up the Mississippi River to Memphis, Louisville and into Indiana and Ohio later this afternoon. Jefferson Parish, which includes Kenner, reports that 10,900 people have lost power during today’s storm.

In Baton Rouge, drivers are ignoring road closures across the Mississippi River where ice is coating bridges. An eighth of an inch of ice has brought down trees, and there are even reports of thunder sleet from meteorologist Steve Caparotta of WAFB.

Here's a look at the icy MS River Bridge in Baton Rouge. We're told by officials the bridge is closed but vehicles are going around the barricades. 🤷‍♂️ #LAwx pic.twitter.com/Th9E45H0Ty

— Steve Caparotta, Ph.D. (@SteveWAFB) February 15, 2021

Wow…big part of a tree downed in Pollard Estates in Baton Rouge. #LAwx

📷: Blake Breedlove pic.twitter.com/Qeb3xp2ho8

— Steve Caparotta, Ph.D. (@SteveWAFB) February 15, 2021

🔊 Sound On

In this video from @Jay_WAFB, you can hear a little of the thunder right at the beginning as thundersleet impacts the Baton Rouge area. #LAwx pic.twitter.com/n2XVSzckPQ

— Steve Caparotta, Ph.D. (@SteveWAFB) February 15, 2021

Meanwhile, in Texas:

Texas checking in 👍 pic.twitter.com/b3HppQ9nWD

— Joe Kinsey (@JoeKinseyexp) February 15, 2021