Thunderstorms with high winds and heavy rain ripped down trees, branches, and power lines – and left thousands of Evansville-area residents without electricity. WNIN’s John Gibson has the recap:
Strong storms rolled into the area Monday evening and kept coming in waves through the night.
The National Weather Service recorded sustained winds of more than 50 miles an hour and a gust as high as 68.
The weather service also measured about an inch-and-a-third of rain at Evansville Regional Airport.
CenterPoint Energy was dealing with more than 30,000 customers without power Monday night.
The utility company said the persistent rain, wind, and lightning hampered crews’ overnight efforts.
The utility promised additional crews on Tuesday, with daylight and better weather helping the restoration process.
Fewer than 15,000 customers were still without electricity as of Tuesday afternoon – most of them in Evansville.
CenterPoint said some customers would likely still be without power into Wednesday.
The outages doused many stoplights, creating traffic headaches at major intersections like the Lloyd Expressway and Vann Avenue.
High temperatures in the low 90’s are expected to add to the misery for those still without power.
More storms are in the forecast on Thursday.