Thousands lose power after heavy storms

UPDATE, 9:52 p.m.: Ameren Missouri expects to restore power to all of Jefferson City “Friday into Saturday,” according to a message the company posted on its outage site on Thursday.

Ameren Missouri said it hoped to restore power to some people on Thursday night.

More than 1,200 customers are currently without power in Jefferson City. Ameren Missouri president Michael May said that he expected more than 200 utility poles had been broken in Wednesday night’s storm.

Three Rivers Electric Cooperative showed just less than 1,200 customers without power on Thursday night. Spokesperson Lorie Kiso said the damage was too widespread to give an accurate estimate on when power would be restored the area in Cole and Millers counties.

ORIGINAL: Thousands of people remained without power before dawn Thursday in Jefferson City and the Eldon area after heavy storms struck overnight.

Ameren Missouri reported more than 3,000 customers without power in separate outages near Eldon and more than 6,000 in Jefferson City at about 4:30 a.m.

Officials reported buildings damaged in Eldon. Meanwhile a confirmed tornado tore a swath through Jefferson City a little before midnight. Five people were admitted to a Jefferson City hospital with minor injuries.

VIDEO: News conference on Jefferson City tornado

Reports from Jefferson City say some buildings were destroyed, trees were downed and vehicles were tossed about in the heavy winds.

The Three Rivers Electric Cooperative reported more than 3,700 customers without power between Jefferson City and Eldon is several pockets of outages. The Co-Mo Electric Cooperative reported nearly 340 customers without power, primarily concentrated north of the Lake of the Ozarks.

The Consolidated Electric Cooperative reported about 230 customers without power, with the biggest outage north of Mexico.

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