Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

The severe thunderstorms that pounded the state this afternoon knocked out power to some homes and caused minor damage to others, but no injuries were reported.

In East Providence, the police have reduced traffic to a single lane along Route 195 west due to downed power lines. East bound traffic is not affected. The police expect traffic to be tied up for a few hours and suggest taking alternate routes.

In Scituate, lightning struck two houses and knocked out police radios. The police said houses were hit on Howard Avenue and Ashland Drive, but there were no injuries and damage was minor.

The police communications system was being worked on early this evening, a spokesman said, and the department expected repairs to take effect within an hour. Fire radios were not affected by the storm.

Some houses in the northern part of town lost power.

Jan Raymond of Brandy Brook Road., Chepachet, reported that a "very tall" tree in her yard "got cut in half" by a lightning bolt.

"It was quite intense," she said. "My son and my neighbors saw and heard it." The falling tree missed the waterfront house, she added, and landed between the house and Echo Lake.

Raymond said that her electrical power and telephone service were knocked out by the fast-moving storm.

She said she has gotten used to living in an area prone to lightning strikes.

"This is the fourth time this has happened" to her property," she said. "We had one not too long ago where the wind took the top of a tree off, flipped it around, pierced and stabbed the house, and one of the branches landed on my daughter's pillow. It was a Saturday, but I thought it was a school day, so I had just got her up. We were very lucky."

National Grid is now reporting that there are about 8,200 customers around the state without power as of 5:30 p.m., according to spokeswoman Deborah Drew.

Cranston and Warwick police, so far are reporting lots of flooding and downed tree limbs.

In communities on the East Bay, there are reports of several downed trees, one each on Metacom Avenue and Hope Street, the two main routes through Bristol. The police say the trees have caused traffic backups. Constitution Street in Bristol between Hope and Thames Streets was also closed after a limb took down some wires. Also flooding closed the Broadway underpass in East Providence.

Lisa Vernon-Sparks, with reports from West Bay, North and East Bay bureaus.

 Tags  Bristol Cranston power failure storm Warwick

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