Thunderstorms damage trees, power lines Friday

Thunderstorms moved through Southeast Missouri on Friday, dropping hail on parts of Bollinger and Cape Girardeau counties, blowing the roof off a building in Perry County and leaving hundreds of homes without power.

The National Weather Service received reports of downed trees on U.S. 61 and the roof blown off at least one house Friday afternoon in Perry County, while in Bollinger County, an emergency manager was reporting quarter-sized hail in Zalma, Missouri.

Trained spotters reported a funnel cloud near the Scott-Cape Girardeau County line and half-inch hail two miles north of Chaffee, Missouri, and the storms knocked down several trees as large as 9 inches in diameter, damaged a satellite antenna and caused minor flooding two miles west of Commerce, Missouri, in Scott County, the weather service reported.

Despite the flooding, York said the amount of rainfall Tuesday afternoon was relatively minimal -- less than seven-tenths of an inch.

"It wasn't much, believe it or not," he said. "It came real quick."

Citizens Electric Corporation reported more than 1,000 outages in Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties Friday evening, mostly as a result of trees falling on power lines.

The company's online map showed most power had been restored by Saturday afternoon.

Forecasters expect a cold front to reach the area Tuesday, bringing a chance for more rain and storms and dropping high temperatures into the 60s through Friday, York said.

epriddy@semissourian.com

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