Storm knocks out power to New Orleans airport

There were no immediate reports of injuries from the storms, which also left the criminal courthouse in New Orleans without power and caused several area schools, including the University of New Orleans, to cancel classes.

Video shown on local television showed at least two freight train cars on an elevated track of the Huey P. Long Bridge on the outskirts of New Orleans blown by heavy winds before tumbling dozens of feet (meters) to the ground.

At the airport, power was off in the main terminal, with the airfield operating on emergency power, an airport spokeswoman told the Times-Picayune newspaper.

Images posted online from inside the terminal showed long lines of travelers waiting for flights, with the airport reporting delays to both departing and arriving flights on its website.

Airport officials did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

As of 12:30 p.m., more than 168,000 Louisiana customers, mostly in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas, were without power, according to Entergy Corp, the biggest power company in the state.

The storms, with winds up to 70 miles per hour (113 kph), moved quickly toward the east across the southern third of Louisiana before heading out to the Gulf of Mexico, National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Revitte said.

(Reporting by Jonathan Kaminsky; Editing by Sandra Maler)