Storms put thousands in dark

A line of strong thunderstorms downed trees and caused power failures throughout central Arkansas on Friday night.

Wind gusts during the storm reached 59 mph at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field, according to the National Weather Service in North Little Rock. The damage from those winds kept law enforcement officers, firefighters and energy companies busy, and thousands of customers in the dark.

There were reports of transformers on fire, trees falling on streets, downed power lines and inactive traffic signals throughout Pulaski County. Little Rock police reported a tree blocking two lanes of traffic in the 1600 block of Cantrell Road. Smaller tree branches littered roads and sidewalks, creating traffic hazards.

About 8 p.m., 17,552 customers were without power, according to David Lewis, Entergy spokesman. Little Rock was hit the hardest with about 6,000 customers without power, followed by 3,000 customers in Hot Springs. On Friday night, Entergy was giving customers a restoration time of noon Saturday.

In North Little Rock, about 10,000 customers were without power as the storm damaged several circuits, lines and poles, according to the North Little Rock Electric Department's Facebook page. Hobby Lobby, Walgreens and Kroger on JFK Boulevard in North Little Rock all lost power Friday night, witnesses said.

At 10:45 p.m., 3,000 North Little Rock Electric customers still were without power, said NLR Electric manager Jill Ponder.

The rain caused some problems in Conway. LaTresha Woodruff, spokesman for the Conway Police Department, said streets in downtown Conway were flooded and water had seeped into some businesses, but on Friday night she said it was hard to know the extent of the damage.

Cooler weather is expected for the rest of the weekend with highs in the mid-80s today and Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures tonight and Sunday night are expected to be in the low to upper 60s.

Metro on 06/27/2015

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