Power Outages, Downed Trees, Street Flooding Caused By Storms

City Opens Clean Up Site To Help Sulphur Springs Residents Get Rid Of Debris

Sulphur Springs and Hopkins County weathered the storm with no known reports of anyone being injured. However, trees and power lines were knocked down throughout the city and county Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Some hail damages were also reported.

Many residents were still without power Thursday morning, with predictions from electric service providers that power would not be restored until the afternoon or early evening for most.

Many city streets filled with water during the worst of the storm, stranding some motorists. Water had receded on city streets by 8 a.m. Some county roads and rural roads were still under water late Thursday morning, however.

Precinct crews began working last night cutting trees off roads. Some homes were reported to have sustained damages, some from trees falling on them. City street crews went to work in the wee hours Thursday morning and were still working to clear trees and debris from city streets. Crews will only cut trees to the curb. Residents will be responsible for any trees or debris on their property starting at the curb, Sulphur Springs City Manager Marc Maxwell reported just before 8 a.m. June 20.

To help city residents with debris, the city’s spring clean up site was opened Thursday morning for Sulphur Springs residents to haul off debris from their yards. The site will remain open until 7 p.m. Saturday for Sulphur Springs residents, Maxwell said.

Sulphur Springs emergency officials monitoring the storms Wednesday sounded the tornado sirens about 6:20 p.m. when a cell with possible rotation was reported to be heading into southern Hopkins County, set to cross the south part of Sulphur Springs.

Possible rotation was spotted in a cell moving over Sulphur Springs around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, and winds accompanied that cell, although not nearly as high as those in the wave of storms which hit Sulphur Springs about 10:20 p.m., according to emergency officials. Those were reported to gust at 40 mile per hour, accompanied by torrential rain and hail. Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down as a result, blocking streets which were flooding. Some roofs were blown off or damages and a few outbuildings damaged as well. The panels marking off the construction area on Main Street across from the courthouse were blown off. Roofs in the area sustained damages as well.

Some reports of phone and Internet outages were also reported Thursday morning.