Chill winds damage trees, cut power, cause accidents

Trees, power lines and vehicles appear to have suffered the brunt of a brief but intense storm Tuesday afternoon.

The Scott County Sheriff's Department confirmed three injured people were taken to area hospitals after seven accidents on Interstate 55 but gave no further details.

Keith Gentry, maintenance superintendent for Missouri Department of Transportation, said he saw three campers and four tractor-trailers sidelined by high winds.

"They'd come out from behind trees or a hill and that wind would catch them off guard and blow them over," he said.

Joe Hercik, assistant sales manager at the Ford Groves auto dealership in Jackson, reported pea-sized hail and power outages.

At 4:30 p.m., AmerenUE's Web site was showing more than 1,600 residences without power in Cape Girardeau. Power was restored to all but 223 by 8 p.m.

The rain blew sideways. It came in under the door of the Cape Girardeau's Public Works Department offices, according to director Tim Gramling.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning at 4:13 p.m. after receiving reports of a funnel cloud near Gordonville.

More than a dozen trees fell in Cape Girardeau County, many taking power lines down along the way, including lines to the city of Cape Girardeau's waste-water treatment plant, which then operated on generators.

A Cape Girardeau police patrol car passed a broken but operational traffic signal at the intersection of Perry Avenue and Broadway after hail and strong winds hit on Tuesday. (Kit Doyle)

A traffic light was nearly blown off its pole at Broadway and Perry Avenue, according to Cape Girardeau Police Department spokesman Barry Hovis.

Traffic signals went dark on Sprigg Street south of William Street. Public works department crews, some just heading home for the day, were recalled to work, according to Gramling.

Between 4 and 8 p.m., temperatures in Southeast Missouri dropped by 38 degrees, according to National Weather Service records. Meteorologists predicted winds gusting up to 70 mph until at least midnight Tuesday and forecast snow and ice Thursday.

Staff writers Rudi Keller, Bridget DiCosmo and Chris Harris contributed to this report.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

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