Thunderstorms rip through Maine
Winds and rain cause outages, property damage
Powerful thunderstorms tore across northern and central Maine yesterday, damaging property, uprooting trees and leaving thousands without power.
"Storms have been pulsing throughout the day," said Butch Roberts of the National Weather Service said. They started in Bethel and Rumford and then spread over the rest of the state.
Roberts said the same storm system was heading toward central Massachusetts overnight. Worcester is under a severe weather alert today.
In Maine, driving rains accompanied hail, which Roberts said ranged from pea- to quarter-size.
The only injury reported was in Cornville, a central town, where a woman was struck by lightning. Her injuries were not serious, authorities said.
Roberts said gale-force winds caused most of the damage. "Roofs were blown off, trees down, wires down," he said.
More than 9,000 customers were in the dark as utility crews from Maine Public Service Co. and Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. scrambled last night to restore power.
A funnel cloud was cited in Masardis, where winds blew the roof off a sawmill, Derrick Weitlich, a meteorologist with the Weather Service, said.
Presque Isle was hit hard by high winds and heavy rains, Patrol Sergeant Joey Seeley said. Downed power lines sparked minor fires.
"Power is out on either ends of the city," he said. "Half of the downtown area lost power for eight hours," and some parts remained without power last night.
A country fair was interrupted, causing would-be revelers to scramble to safety.
Shoppers at the local
"My husband hit the panic button, and we turned around and there was the car underneath their shed," shopper Joyce Nelson told a Maine television station.
Authorities were unable to estimate the monetary damage to property last night.
Material from the Associated Press was included in this report. 