LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / November 10, 2000

HAHNVILLE – A small tornado nearly touched down Wednesday night in the area of St. Charles Place in Hahnville and damaged a dozen homes, two ofthem severely, as it skimmed the treeline.

St. Charles Parish Emergency Preparedness Director Tab Troxler said the “very minor tornado” came and went in moments about 11:10 p.m.Nevertheless, Clark Guillot said it sounded like the characteristic freight train approaching.

“It was definitely a tornado, and that train was a-coming!” Guillot said. “Ifelt like I was on the tracks.”He was in his rear upstairs bedroom when he heard the approach. He randownstairs, and a front yard willow tree smashed into his upstairs front bedroom. By late Thursday afternoon he was still trying to figure out howto lift the heavy trunk off his house.

Next door up the street Sharon Schmidt heard the commotion as well. “Wethought we lost the front of the house!” she exclaimed.

However, her home lost mostly a few roof shingles.

At the next house Davis and Brenda Madere’s front carport was uprooted and shattered in mid-air. The two pickup trucks and a car under thecovering escaped virtually unscratched.

“With all the damage the tornado did, it’s a wonder nobody was hurt,” Brenda Madere said.

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