By Sentinel Staff
High winds felled a large spruce tree on Jeff Davis Street shortly after noon Thursday, blocking traffic on the busy street and knocking out power in a small section of town.
The street was cleared and power was restored by 6 p.m., city electric director Scott Elder said in an email.
“I would like to thank those affected by the outage for their patience as the work progressed, and to thank those who labored to clear the debris and restore power during inclement weather,” Elder said in the email. “Your patience and efforts are appreciated.”
Wind gusts up to 45 miles per hour were reported at the time the tree fell across the road. The National Weather Service said the wind peaked at 50 mph at 4:30 p.m. Just over a half inch of precipitation fell throughout the day.
The forecast for today was for southerly winds of 10 to 20 mph with up to a half inch of rain. The weather service forecast winds of less than 30 mph and some precipitation over the three-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday.
City crews work to remove a tree and restore power to the Jeff Davis neighborhood Thursday afternoon. The weekend forecast includes rain with some wind between 10-15 mph Saturday, including gusts to 30 mph. Sunday winds are expected to be between 15-20 mph. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
