Tree crushes car as Hurricane Barry approaches Louisiana

MORGAN CITY, La. — A large tree crushed a car in a Louisiana parking lot Saturday morning as Hurricane Barry approached the Gulf Coast.

AccuWeather storm chaser Reed Timmer captured footage of the dramatic scene in Morgan City, Louisiana, a community about 80 miles west of New Orleans.

“Thankfully no one was inside [the car]. This shows you one of the many dangers with going outside during a hurricane,” Timmer said, adding that he had observed tree damage and downed power lines across the city as Barry prepared to make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its 11 a.m. Saturday advisory that Barry had reached maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, with higher gusts.

Hurricane-force winds were measured some 45 miles to the east of the storm’s center, which was located 40 miles south of Lafayette, Louisiana. It was moving northwest at 6 mph.

Weather forecasters said a hurricane warning is in effect for Intracoastal City to Grand Isle. Such a warning means that hurricane conditions are expected within the warning area.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.