Storms, high winds cause widespread power outages, topple trees

Thunderstorms packing high winds raced through Southeast Missouri on Thursday evening, downing trees and limbs and leaving thousands of people without power in Cape Girardeau County and parts of Scott County.

Power was still out for more than 700 people by midmorning Friday said Russ Burger, director of the Southeast Missouri region for Ameren Missouri.

Burger said Ameren crews and several contractors were at work restoring power, but it will likely be Saturday afternoon before all of the power will be back on.

Crew members of J.F. Electric put up new power lines Friday in Cape Girardeau.Kassi Jackson ~ Southeast Missourian

�We are diligently trying to get the lights on,� he said, adding the utility is using drones to survey the damage.

High temperatures and humidity added to the challenge, Burger said.

�The heat is really taking a toll on them,� he said of the utility crews.

Neal Hale of J.F. Electric puts up new power lines with his crew Friday in Cape Girardeau.Kassi Jackson ~ Southeast Missourian

Thursday night�s storm was just the latest in a series of storms with high winds that swept through the area this week, he said.

Burger blamed high winds for the outages. He estimated wind speeds of at least 50 mph.

A storm Tuesday evening left 7,000 people without power in Cape Girardeau County and northern Scott County, Burger said. Crews restored power.

Neal Hale, left, and Blake Harris of J.F. Electric put up new power lines with their crew Friday in Cape Girardeau.Kassi Jackson ~ Southeast Missourian

But a daytime storm Thursday knocked out power for about 6,500 customers.

Southeast Missouri State University lost power around 10:20 a.m. Thursday.

�According to Ameren, the outage was the result of a downed tree on a line near the Isle Casino Cape Girardeau that impacted the main Ameren feed into the campus,� school spokeswoman Ann Hayes said.

Blake Harris of J.F. Electricputs up new power lines with his crew Friday in Cape Girardeau.Kassi Jackson ~ Southeast Missourian

�The outage primarily impacted the central core of campus,� she said. Southeast announced at 12:20 p.m. it would close for the remainder of the day as the power outage continued. Power was restored around 1:50 p.m. Thursday and Southeast facilities management staff spent the afternoon checking all systems on campus, Hayes said.

The university reopened at 8 a.m. Friday.

Ameren crews had restored power to all but about 150 customers before the Thursday evening�s storm struck. Ameren�s Burger said 5,000 customers were without power following the evening storm.

Seth Bumpus, bottom, hands Neal Hale, both of J.F. Electric, wires as the crew puts up new power lines Friday in Cape Girardeau.Kassi Jackson ~ Southeast Missourian

Police received numerous reports of downed limbs and power lines Thursday night, public information officer Rick Schmidt said.

The latest storm prompted some flooding on city streets, but �the creeks didn�t get out of their banks,� Cape Girardeau public works assistant director Stan Polivick said.

Helen Hays, who lives in the Tanglewood Estates subdivision just north of the City of Cape Girardeau, said her house lost power in all three storms. She estimated the last power outage occurred at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Hays said her house and about 50 others in her neighborhood were still without power Friday morning.

Blake Harris, left, and Neal Hale, both of J.F. Electric, put up new power lines with their crew Friday in Cape Girardeau.Kassi Jackson ~ Southeast Missourian

She said she has �good insulated windows� which have helped keep it livable inside her house while the air conditioning remained off.

The evening storm caused storm damage in some city parks. A large tree was blown down in Indian Park. On Friday, the trunk and its massive limbs were sprawled across the outdoor basketball court.

High winds also felled a tree in Capaha Park, parks and recreation director Julia Jones said. Various debris also was scattered across the city�s parks.

Cleanup efforts will extend into next week, she said.

Polivick said Cape Girardeau public works crews removed limbs from roadways and fielded numerous calls from residents who reported tree damage.

�There is quite a bit of damage,� he said Friday morning.

If residents have tree damage in their yards, they must cut up the trees and limbs and haul the debris to the curb, he said. Residents can call public works to have city crews haul off the items.

The City of Jackson operates its own utility system.

Jackson public works director Kent Peetz said the storm downed tree limbs and a few power lines. City crews have restored power, he said.

Overall, he said, damage was �very minor.�

Peetz credited the city�s tree-trimming program to limiting power outages. Crews routinely cut back trees near power lines to avoid having lines brought down by falling limbs, he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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