As two storm systems moved through this area Thursday, Upshur County escaped with only a tornado watch and heavy rainfall. Shreveport was not so lucky.

Tornadoes swept across North Louisiana and thousands there remained without power Friday. There was an increasing threat to homes from rising waterways.

The weather station at the Gilmer airport recorded .91 inch of rain that fell before 8 p.m. and another .19 inch of rain early Friday.

As a cold front moved through with the rainstorm, the temperature dropped from 80 degrees at 4 p.m. to 68 degrees at 5 p.m. on the way to a low of 54 early Friday.

The Buckeye freshmen football contest with Pleasant Grove was canceled after one touchdown due to lightning.

Trees blocked roads in some areas, and the Sabine and Little Cypress Rivers flooded out of their banks.

This October may go into the record books as a record rainy October in a year that has already produced more rain in ten months than most whole years since 1939. Total for the year stood at 68.81 inches Friday. Only three years have gone into the books as wetter than that. One was 1957, which holds the record at 74.46 inches. The others were 1973, with 72.01 inches of moisture, and 1979 with 71.20.

The Louisiana storms Thursday claimed one life — a 20-year-old man whose 1998 Ford Taurus hit a downed tree while traveling east on Hwy. 170 in Caddo Parish.

Oas the storm system was pushed east to exit the region, a drier pattern was set up through the weekend into early next week.

Saturday was predicted to be sunny with a high neear 69 and Sunday’s temperature was expected to reach 72 degrees nder sunny skies with calm winds. Lows were predicted to be around 46 degrees both nights.