In yards strewn with branches and roof shingles, residents across several blocks in Arabi spent Saturday cleaning debris and surveying the damage from a tornado that battered their neighborhood Friday evening.
The tornado slammed homes with winds up to 85 mph that snapped trees, flattened fences and ripped the roofs from several properties, according to the National Weather Service. But many neighbors still escaped the worst gusts.
“It’s crazy, man,” said Rodney Neumeyer, whose garden was untouched despite damage to the roof. “I don’t know if this one was a tornado or a twister or what. It was just weird.”…