Lili Thunders Inland

Tropical Storm Lili left a dark path behind her as she moved through Louisiana, knocking out power to about 850,000 homes. An official from the Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness added that some 2,000 people had lost their phone service.

The storm arrived on Louisiana's shore as a Category 2 hurricane, having weakened from its peak as a Category 4 storm while out in the Gulf of Mexico. Though its winds had swirled at 145 miles per hour at one point, the system hit cooler water before reaching Louisiana, causing its wind speed to weaken to 100 miles per hour.

Lili's strength quickly deteriorated as it crossed land. It was downgraded to a Tropical Storm when its winds slowed below 74 miles per hour.

SPECIAL REPORT • Gallery: Lili hits Gulf Coast • Flash animation: Follow a hurricane ashore • Interactive: Top 10 worst hurricanes • Interactive: Lili's projected track • Special report: Hurricane Season RELATED • Downgraded but not out  • Eight-hour satellite animation  • Behind the scenes: Jeff Flock: 'We had some tense moments'   • National Hurricane Center

But it wasn't weak enough for some of the state's parishes. Lili snapped trees, tore off roofs and shingles, smashed through windows, blew down traffic signs, and cut utility wires down in towns like Crowley and Vermillion Parish.

No storm-related deaths had been reported by Thursday night. One official said the state had been "very, very lucky" in that sense, but the effect on the state's sugarcane crop was much more severe. A secretary to an Iberia Parish official said the crop, which is being harvested now, was hit hard.

Flooding took a toll on low-lying areas of the state. Almost 13,000 people took advantage of the 98 shelters that were open, and doing so kept at least one woman dry: she said she returned to her house to find five feet of water inside. And President Bush included a number of Louisiana's parishes in a disaster area he declared on Thursday.