Thursday storm brings scattered power outages

Published 4:57 pm Thursday, December 20, 2012

An early Thursday morning storm brought scattered power outages and a few fallen tree limbs but no other significant damage, officials said.

     Entergy Customer Accounts Manager Kenny Goza estimated there were 400 to 500 outages scattered across the power provider’s coverage area. He said most of the outages occurred between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. and crews were well on their way to restoring power to those still without it a few hours later.

     “We should have everything back on by mid-morning,” Goza said.

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     Southwest Electric Power Association Public Relations Director Azalea Knight reported some outages in the association’s area, but she did not immediately have details. Information on other possible area outages was not available.

     Lincoln County Civil Defense Director Clifford Galey reported no major problems associated with the passing storm.

     “As far as I know, we only had a few trees down,” he said. “The deputies moved those off the road.”

     Lincoln County’s weather was part of a fast-moving storm that had winds up to 60 miles an hour in some parts of the state. The storm prompted severe thunderstorm and tornado watches and warnings in some areas.

     The National Weather Service said the storm system was expected to be out of the state in most areas by mid-day leaving behind much cooler temperatures and gusty winds.

     There were some early scattered reports of downed power lines and tree limbs but no major damage or injuries.

     Joanne Culin, a meteorologist with Weather Service in Jackson, said some light rain may continue Thursday in some areas but much of the system was moving quickly out of the state.

     “We’re going to get some pretty gusty winds – 25 to 30 miles and perhaps upwards to 45 to 50 miles an hour in some places – and much colder air. Most areas reached their high for the day Thursday morning,” Culin said.

     Forecasters said temperatures could fall to near freezing in many areas.