1 killed, 7 injured from EF3 tornado that ravaged Louisiana parish

Severe weather worries have once again proved to be worth the fright in the southern U.S. after storms fired to life on Friday afternoon and tore across the South into Saturday morning.

The stormy conditions continued throughout Saturday as thunderstorms worked their way to Florida, where heavy rain and winds disrupted major events and reached near-historic speeds.

Reports of strong winds and hail continued through the day on Sunday in Florida. Over 200 flights were canceled in the state, according to FlightAware.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), a wind-related fatality occurred in Spring Hill, Florida, on Sunday after a tree fell on a car and electrocuted the person inside.

One fatality was also reported in Louisiana, as strong winds sent a tree toppling onto a mobile home near Blanchard, Louisiana, on Friday evening, claiming the life of a 48-year-old man, the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office confirmed to AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell.

Neighbors of the victim told Wadell that the storms had been nearby and that winds at the time of the tragedy had been notably strong.

St. Landry Parish President Jessie Bellard told AccuWeather National Reporter Kim Leoffler one person was killed and seven others injured from the tornado in the area. A damage survey conducted on Saturday by the NWS office in Lake Charles, Louisiana, confirmed an EF3 tornado with estimated peak wind speeds of 140 mph had torn through the area.

On Saturday, Loeffler reported from Bolton Road in Palmetto, Louisiana, where cars where left upside down and debris was scattered throughout the town. The same EF3 tornado that took the life of one person and injured seven others, awakened resident Eva Council and her husband.

"We heard the wind coming strong and my husband said 'Okay, let's move' and so we cut across and came in here," Council said, standing amid the debris of her badly damaged home. "Glass was coming in from the door right there and we could hear as everything was starting to crumble."

Despite the Council's roof being ripped off, the couple escaped to the bathroom where they safely waited out the storm in the bath tub.

Eva Council stands in the midst of her badly damaged home where she and her husband waited out the severe storms on Friday night. (AccuWeather / Kim Loeffler)

"Everything just crumbled around us, but we were okay," she said. "The only thing I remember thinking was ‘We trust you Lord, no matter what happens.'"

Those winds pushed eastward on Saturday and left similarly brutal impacts on businesses, homes and events in the state of Florida.

In Jacksonville, winds reached a peak of 60 mph on Saturday afternoon according to recordings taken at Jacksonville International Airport, shattering the previous daily record wind gust from 1956. The 60-mph recording was the second-strongest gust in state history for the month of April, only eclipsed by a 67 mph recording in 1992.

On Saturday evening, the ongoing thunderstorms forced the evacuation of Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, where the WWE is hosting its annual Wrestlemania event outdoors. The steady rain and threat of lightning forced fans in attendance to be temporarily evacuated an hour before the wrestling was set to begin.

Farther north, in the Florida panhandle, a possible tornado caused widespread damage in Panama City on Saturday as well.

On Facebook, the city reported damage to a house and Blu Convenient Store on Front Beach Road and Wells Street. At least three people escaped from these structures with minor injuries. A survey team from the NWS office in Tallahassee, Florida, confirmed the touchdown of three tornadoes in Bay County on Saturday. The strongest of these twisters was rated an EF2 with estimated peak wind speeds of 125 mph. One additional EF1 tornado was confirmed to have touched down in neighboring Walton County on Saturday.

By Saturday evening, shortly before 8 p.m. local time, 45,000 Florida residents were without power due to the conditions, according to PowerOutage.us. By 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, only 10,000 Florida residents and 10,000 Arkansas residents remained without power, while nearly all power had been restored to those impacted in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.