July 27, 2006 – After impressive lightning and thunder early Thursday morning across the territory, residents can look forward to better weather by late Thursday or early Friday.
"It looks like by late afternoon some drier air will be pressing in from the east. This is a one-day shot of bad weather," National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Seeley said around 9 a.m. Thursday.
He said that a tropical wave passing through the area flared up, with the moisture from the east side of the wave being pulled across the area.
Seeley said the wave, combined with moisture and upper-level winds, created the flare up.
He said that flash flood warnings were in place until Thursday afternoon. Seeley said that while Friday should be clearer and drier, more moisture will move into the area by Saturday.
V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency Director Harold Baker said he had no reports of flooding from the rain that accompanied the thunder and lightning.
However, all four islands saw power outages. At 9:30 a.m., V.I. Water and Power Authority spokeswoman Cassandra Dunn said that power was out on St. John in parts of the Coral Bay area and parts of Cruz Bay.
"There was a lightning strike in Coral Bay," she said.
Dunn said sections of the West End of St. Thomas still were without power, and various parts of St. Croix had no electricity. Water Island had been out during the night.
She said that on St. Croix, a driver rear-ended a WAPA line truck in the La Grand Princess area, sending the WAPA employee to the hospital with whiplash and damaging the truck.
"It slows us up because we have one less crew and one less truck," Dunn said.
Dunn said the driver of the car that hit the WAPA truck abandoned his car and fled the scene.
She said WAPA crews were working across the territory to restore power.
The power outages also affected Innovative Cable TV in some areas.
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