weatherman222's Blog

    Well it has been a very busy evening for the Fire, Police, EMS and utility crews in Madison, County MO. The problems all started a little after 8PM when a slow moving strong thunderstorm began it's march across Northern Madison Co. The storm packed torrential rainfall, and plenty of cloud to ground lightning. The lightning caused quite a few problems across the area. First with two reports of structure fires around 8:30PM. The first call was for the Cherokee Pass Fire Dept. to respond to a house that had been struck by lightning in rural area of Northern Madison County. Cherokee Pass units began to arrive on scene and found the home fully involved. The house was reported a total loss. It also proved difficult get fire trucks to the home due to it's rural location. The second call was for the Fredericktown Fire Dept. to respond to Warehouse Tire & Oil which had been hit by lightning and was reported to be on fire. Units began to arrive on scene but found no sign of fire. The electric dept responded as well to disconnect electric service to the business. Next in the list of problems was the electricity. At about 9:00PM as the storm continued to hound the area with numerous lightning strikes and heavy rain. A lucky lightning strike caught a 3 phase power line in front of the hospital in Fredericktown. The strike brought down 2 of the 3 phases and one of which was still live. The Fredericktown Fire Dept and police dept responded accordingly to secure the area. Shortly after the electric dept arrived on scene and went to the downtown substation in Fredericktown to shut off electric to the area. Repairs went on for about 1 1/2 hrs before power was restored. Then Fredericktown and the surrounding area dealt with the heavy rain that had fallen. Many streets in Fredericktown began to flood and became impassible. Some streets were closed by the PD to prevent vehicles from becoming stranded. Also low lying areas around creeks and streams became flooded. ( of note the NWS accordingly issued a Flash Flood Warning for Madison Co)

Now here is a short video clip of some of tonight's events:

1. The Fredericktown Fire Dept. responding to the fire report at Warehouse Tire & Oil.

2. The live wire on the ground in front of Madison Medical Center.