Atwood Chevrolet Oldsmobile Detailer Gregory Conway cleans up debris scattered over the parking lot after thunderstorms and high winds shattered the sign Tuesday night. A Chevy Avalanche under the sign was damaged along with a storage building and wooden rack used for detailing cars that was twisted and thrown several feet from the back of the building.(The Vicksburg Post/MELANIE DUNCAN)

[02/20/02]Strong winds and heavy rain in a squall line moved through the Vicksburg area Tuesday night, knocking out electricity and dropping trees and limbs across the county.

Rainfall amounts varied across the state with Vicksburg recording one of the highest numbers. A total of 1.15 inch was recorded at the Vicksburg Tallulah Regional Airport and 1.10 inch was recorded at the Vicksburg Water Treatment Plant at the E.W. Haining Industrial Center.

At the peak of the storm, about 8 p.m. Tuesday, about 4,000 Entergy customers were without power, said Cheryl Comans, community service manage for this area.

L.W. Callaway III, director of the Warren County Emergency Management Office, there were 16 reports of trees or limbs down scattered all over the county but no reports of any major damage. The first report of a fallen tree came in from Porters Chapel Road at about 5:15 p.m.

Comans said Entergy had damage to five circuits involving the Bovina area, an area on Mississippi 3, Porters Chapel Road, Indiana Avenue, the Frontage Roads, Enchanted Hills and Oak Park. There were scattered outages in the rest of the county, also.

As of about 9 a.m. today, she said most of the outages had been repaired but about 850 customers still had no power. One of those customers was the McDonald’s restaurant on North Frontage Road near Battlefield Mall. A transformer damaged by the storm was thought to have been the problem.

Comans said crews worked through the night but added she did not expect all customers to be back on until about 6 p.m. today. Most of those customers are in the Bovina area.