Strong storm causes tornado scare around Cape Girardeau; tornado watch canceled

A strong storm whipped through Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Scott and Stoddard counties at about 60 miles per hour around noon on Friday.

Damage from the storm wasn't immediately clear.

There were reports that a funnel cloud had been spotted near Siemers Drive as the storm went through, but that was initially unconfirmed, according to the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky.

Sirens went off in Cape Girardeau and Jackson, but there was no indication of a tornado touch down in the Cape Girardeau area.

The series of tornado warnings began just after 11 a.m., when a tornado was apparently spotted in Wayne County, moving northeast at near 60 miles per hour. The storm caused a chain of warnings that extended into Illinois.

Ameren Missouri reported 127 customers without power in the Cape Girardeau area at 12:50 p.m., and hundreds more without power around Dexter, Mo., and Mississippi County, Mo.

A tornado watch issued by the National Weather Service Friday morning for Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky was originally in effect until 6 p.m., but was canceled early in the afternoon after the powerful storms moved through.