Strong storms down trees in Southeast Missouri

A line of strong storms that moved through Southeast Missouri touched off warnings about severe thunderstorms and tornadoes late Thursday afternoon, causing some damage reports.

Trees were reported down in Wayne and Bollinger counties near towns like Zalma, Piedmont and Greenville.

The storms packed strong winds up to 70 miles per hour, according to National Weather Service warnings.

Large hail was reported in Bollinger and Scott counties.

Police radio traffic also indicated downed power lines on Morgan Oak Street in Cape Girardeau, and just after 8 p.m. Ameren Missouri's online outage map reported about 1,100 customers without power in Cape Girardeau.

Authorities in Scott County said a downed power line caused a house fire in Morley, Mo.

Storms also downed trees in Stoddard County, and wind gusts of 50 miles per hour were reported at Chaffee, Mo., in Scott County. A 52 mile per hour gust was reported in Alexander County, Ill.