ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY, Mo. — On a sunny, dry Thursday afternoon, Deanna Hornbuckle and her two daughters had fun at Columbia Park in Park Hills. It was a big relief from the night before.
"It was really crazy," Hornbuckle said.
She and her family live in Leadington.
Deanna said at about 9 p.m. Wednesday, intense storms swept through St. Francois County.
"It started off really with heavy rains coming down. The lighting was absolutely beautiful, but it was scary," she said.
City officials said the late-night storms snapped lots of limbs and uprooted trees from four city parks and all around Park Hills.
"Yeah, trees lost. That is sad, but that's part of nature. That's how it goes," Hornbuckle said.
A huge, toppled tree also fell on a family's house on Emerson Street while they were inside. Thankfully, nobody was hurt.
"Our electricity flickered twice, yes, and then, it went out completely," Hornbuckle said.
At the height of the storm, Hornbuckle and about 1, 200 of her neighbors in the area lost electricity for hours after fallen trees also knocked down power lines.
"I heard all the wildness outside personally like the ambulances and the cops. You know everybody was worried about everything," the concerned mom said.
About five miles away in Farmington, there was similar damage. A big tree blocked off a section of Long Street where lots of fallen tree limbs are still in the street and in neighbors' front yards.
"All of sudden, we just heard a loud crash," Lisa Barnes said.
A startled Barnes then saw a storm-battered tree outside her home was partially gone.
"We had a lot of lightning, a lot of thunder and lots of rain. Just a pretty typical Missouri thunderstorm," Barnes said.
Forecasters have said more storms could be on the way come Friday.
"Oh, that will be good for the crops and good for our gardens and such, but I hope it's not that severe," Hornbuckle said.
The good news: The power was back on for most people and businesses in St. Francois County by Thursday afternoon.
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