Winds exceeded 75 miles per hour during Saturday Stoddard County storm

DEXTER, Mo. -- The National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., after paying a visit to Dexter Sunday, declared that the storm that moved through the area late Saturday afternoon was a "microburst" carrying straight-line winds that at times exceeded 75 miles per hour.

According to John Prance, director of the Stoddard County Emergency Management Agency, about 430 Dexter residents were without power after winds from the storm snapped four power poles along a stretch of Two Mile Road near the Elks Lodge.

A section of Two Mile was closed to traffic as power was restored Saturday evening. Some residents in that area reported being without power for a period of about three hours.

This maple tree, planted in 1957 by Tom Stevens who still resides on farm property on Two Mile Road, was one of several that came toppling down during Saturday afternoon's storm. The tree crashed onto a shed on the Stevens' property, but no one was injured in the storm. (Noreen Hyslop/The Daily Statesman)

The roof of McDonald's Playhouse suffered extensive damage in the storm, as did a sign on the north side of Busy B Lumber on One Mile Road. A fence bordering the new dialysis center on the North Outer Road also sustained damage and utility poles were snapped at Route Y and AB near the Clines Island area in Stoddard County. The roof of the Rinehart Insurance Agency along the North Outer Road also sustained damage.

The storm blasted through the area around 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, the Fourth of July, putting more than a damper on holiday picnics across the area. Some areas southwest of Dexter recorded just over an inch of rain, while others in the northwest area of Dexter measured over two and a half inches in a 20 minute time span.