SEVERE WEATHER STRIKES REGION

Tornado watches and warnings accompanied by heavy lightning and rain over the region Tuesday night served as a reminder that spring weather is approaching.

A tornado was spotted at 6:14 p.m. Tuesday about three miles east of Bloomfield, the Stoddard County Sheriff's Department said. Some homes and mobile homes were damaged.

Only .23 of an inch of rain fell at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport Tuesday, but heavier amounts were recorded elsewhere.

The annual observance of Severe Weather Awareness Week began Monday. A statewide drill that was to have been held Tuesday morning was postponed until Thursday.

By 6:40 p.m., a possible tornado touched down near Scott County Central Elementary School, but sheriff's deputies didn't immediately know which direction it was headed.

"Right now we are in the dark," said a Scott County deputy, speaking of a sudden power outage. "There are too many scattered rumors." No damage was reported in the area.

Later reports showed the tornado was headed east, but the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., didn't confirm the sighting.

Nearby counties of Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Perry, Scott, New Madrid, Stoddard and Wayne were under a thunderstorm watch during the night. Heavy rain accompanied by hail pelted the Whitewater area at about 9 p.m. Tuesday.

Parts of southern Missouri, including the Poplar Bluff area, remained under a tornado watch until midnight.

A watch means conditions are right for a tornado or thunderstorm; a warning means one has been sighted.

The tornado was accompanied by pelting rain and hail. Strong winds blew out an electricity transformer leaving residents in Dexter, Oran, Chaffee and Delta without power for 15 minutes.