This afternoon on seMissourian.com

Bad time for a storm

The timing couldn't have been much worse. Just a couple of weeks after the January ice storm, with tree limbs weak and the ground saturated, a line of severe thunderstorms moved through Southeast Missouri and other areas.The storm is causing flooding in Marble Hill, where Crooked Creek was rising out of its banks. The flooding prompted a National Weather Service warning.

And in Bollinger County, the storm has forced the closure of Route EE, as well as other state routes around Southeast Missouri. The storm also caused limbs to blow out of trees around the area and is leading to fluctuating power outage numbers around the area.For more information on what our weather will be like the rest of today and later this week, go to our weather page.

Twisters hit Oklahoma

A cluster of tornadoes associated with the same storm system that hit us overnight and this morning caused massive destruction in Oklahoma, where at least 8 people were left dead.Click here for more on this story from the Associated Press.

Witnesses called in Welty trial

The trial of one of Missouri's youngest murder suspects continues today in Clayton. Owen Welty, of Bloomfield in Stoddard County, was only 13 when he was accused of murder in 2006.Today the detective who interrogated Pulley and a Missouri State Highway Patrol ballistics expert took the stand in the trial. Click here to read about their testimony.

Later today and Thursday on seMissourian.com

Check back later today for more on the effects of the storm and come back tonight for stories from the Scott County Central/Sikeston basketball game and the planning and zoning meeting to consider redrawing Cape Girardeau's zoning rules.Come back Thursday morning for the complete story on the game, with photo galleries, and tips on tax changes for the 2008 tax year.

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If you have questions or comments about seMissourian.com, contact me, Matt Sanders, at msanders@semissourian.com or 388-3652.