Melissa Robinson feels blessed. Numerous structures, vehicles, trees and utility lines were damaged when severe weather passed through Natchitoches Sunday evening, May 28.

Melissa and her husband live on Cypress Avenue. They were at home with their grandson when the storm hit. The winds were so strong and the rain was so heavy they couldn’t see out the windows of their home. They could hear the snap of the tree as it fell. They rushed to the other side of the house and prayed they would survive the night.

It wasn’t an average size tree either. Melissa said the tree is around 300 years old. When they moved into their home 21 years ago, their neighbors told them the tree near their driveway was one the oldest in the neighborhood. Her neighbors, who’d lived in their home for 40 plus years, said the tree had survived many a storm in its lifetime.

Melissa is thankful the tree landed on their cars and not in the middle of their home. One limb scraped the roofline of the house near the front porch. When the tree was uprooted it cracked the concrete of the driveway, leaving a gaping hole.

“It could have been much worse,” she said.

The National Weather Service’s Shreveport office conducted a survey of damages in the City of Natchitoches Monday, May 29. Damages in the City were caused by straight-line winds in excess of 80-95 mph.

The NPJ appreciates the numerous photo submissions of storm damage across the City it’s received over the past few days. Stay safe as you continue to clean up and recover.