HIGH WINDS, STORMS CANCEL FAIR ACTIVITIES

Two storm cells brought nearly 1 1/2 inches of rain and wind gusts of up to 35 mph to the Cape Girardeau area Tuesday afternoon, causing scattered power outages and wiping out events at the SEMO District Fair.

A moderate-sized crowd attending the fair took cover in tents and the A.C. Brase Arena Building when the first rains came shortly after 3 p.m. Heavier showers accompanied by thunder developed at about 4 p.m. and continued for about 45 minutes.

Announcements were made over the public address system that some cars were at risk of flooding and that another storm was impending, said Dick Knaup, a member of the fair board's security team.

When the second storm cell came through at about 5:30, fair officials began advising people to leave.

The evening's grandstand entertainment, the tractor pull, was canceled and the fair officially was closed at 6 p.m.

At 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, Cape La Croix Creek still was causing problems for car-owners parked in the lower end of Arena Park. Some cars did get water into their floorboards.

"Right now it's a break-even situation," Knaup said. "The creek's just a little over bank-high. Nothing life-threatening but it's a great inconvenience."

He said about 1 1/2 feet of water was standing in areas near the park entrance, and the situation was less severe at the southern end.

Though not threatened, Knaup said, some livestock was being moved to higher ground Tuesday evening.

"There's standing water all over the place out here," said Bob Nitch, the president of the fair board. "We really got soaked."

Steve Engles, a member of the fair board, said not much could be done Tuesday night to prepare the fairgrounds to reopen today.

"We're just waiting for the water to go down," he said. "The Great Flood of '93 has reappeared."

But he predicted that the fair will be back in business quickly. "The fair is on tomorrow (Wednesday). High and dry."

Tuesday's armband special, which offered carnival rides from 5-11 p.m. for $12, will be offered again tonight.

Law enforcement agencies reported scattered damage locally. Roofs were blown off a couple of trailers at the Route W Trailer Court, a Cape Girardeau Sheriff's Department dispatcher said.

Cape Girardeau police reported only downed limbs and flooded intersections.

In Chaffee, the north and east sides of town were without power for part of Tuesday afternoon. Power to most customers in the area had been restored by about 7:30 p.m.

A.D. Cox, district superintendent for Union Electric, said about 500 customers were without power in outages that ranged west of Gordonville Road toward Jackson, and included Oriole, Morley, Chaffee and Dutchtown.

By 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, 200 of those customers still were waiting for their power to be restored.

A tornado watch issued along with the storm was canceled early Tuesday evening.

John Perry, a weather observer for the Missouri Weather Cooperative at the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport, said the day's high temperature of 85 dropped to 57 at one point as the storms swept in. He said the sustained wind speed was 24 mph during part of the storm.