A few isolated heavy thunderstorms crossed the region early Tuesday night, but there have been no reports of any serious damage.
The Iuka Fire Department was called out to a lightning strike on the Carla Lyons home on US 50 west of town. Lyons flipped the breakers off after smelling smoke, but after the fire department checked walls with a thermal cameras the breakers were turned back on and no problems found.
Both Salem and Centralia received very little rain, with the Salem Water Plant recording just .18 inches and the Centralia Water Plant .15 inches for the 24 hour period ending at seven am.
The area had been placed on both a severe thunderstorm watch and wind advisory on Tuesday afternoon and evening as the storm system approached. As predicted, most of the heavier storm activity stayed to the north.
Meanwhile, strong storms have caused damage in parts of the middle U.S. and spawned tornadoes in Kansas and Iowa, including one that left two people hurt. The National Weather Service says an EF-1 tornado touched down shortly after 6 a.m. Tuesday near the northeastern Kansas town of Richland. The twister reached speeds of up to 100 mph and was on the ground for about 20 minutes. No details about the two injuries were immediately available.
A tornado also destroyed a barn in Iowa, and parts of western Missouri had wind damage.
A Chicago-bound flight had to return to Kansas City International Airport shortly after takeoff due to a possible lightning strike.
