Storms damage buildings, down trees, dump rain

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was updated to reflect that a home wasn't destroyed, but badly damaged.

Homes and businesses were damaged when a line of strong storms swept through the area bringing high winds and heavy downpours.

A home in Delta was badly damaged and the roof was ripped from a convenience store. Other homes in the town had minor damage when strong winds ripped through the area.

An initial report that a home was destroyed at Delta was misinformation, according to Cape Girardeau County emergency management.

The storm system caused wind damage across the area and poured .81 inches of rain in a half-hour at Poplar Bluff.

According to preliminary storm reports, law enforcement in Ripley County reported a porch roof was ripped off a home and 15 trees were knocked down 6 miles northeast of Doniphan, Mo., in Ripley County at about 8 p.m.

In Poplar Bluff, the storms dumped .81 inches of rain in a half-hour, according to an account from a trained spotter posted at 8:46 p.m. Two mobile homes were also blown off their foundations at Poplar Bluff.

The storms touched off severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings as they moved through, but no tornadoes touched down, according to early reports.

A funnel cloud was sighted 8 miles east of Dexter in central Stoddard County, moving east at 45 mph, at 9:15 p.m. Another was reported near exit 99 off Interstate 55 by a trained spotter just before 9:30 p.m.

Numerous trees were downed in southeast Wayne County near Wappapello at 8:55 p.m., an emergency manager said. A semi-truck and its trailer were blown down because of straight-line winds along Highway 25 in Cape Girardeau County at 9:15 p.m.

A car drives through the intersection of Broadway and Lorimier Street Tuesday night after a tornado watch turned briefly into a tornado warning in Cape Girardeau. (Adam Vogler)

Cape Girardeau County emergency management also reported trees down blocking parts of Highway 25, Route W, the intersection of county roads 316 and 324 and LaSalle Avenue. Power lines were reported down and debris on some rooftops in Delta, where a home was later reported destroyed in the storm and several others damaged.

A car crash in Interstate 55's northbound lane in Cape Girardeau shut down a stretch of traffic for a time, though details were scarce just before midnight as police worked the wreck. A Missouri State Highway Patrol dispatcher said the patrol was assisting with traffic, but that the Cape Girardeau Police Department was in charge of the scene. A dispatcher with the city police department said details wouldn't be available until later. The patrol dispatcher said at about 11:30 p.m. the wreck took place about mile marker 97 and that the passing lane had just opened up.

Power lines were reported down across New Madrid, Mo., by law enforcement and power outages were reported in Sikeston, Mo. Wind gusts of up to 60 to 70 mph were reported in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois. An unoccupied mobile home was blown over in New Madrid County at Lilbourn.

More than 400 Ameren Missouri customers were without power in the Cape Girardeau area at 10:30 p.m., according to the utility's website.