Heavy rains and lightning left some power customers in the dark Thursday afternoon, but the storms were a ray of sunshine for area farmers.
Jerry Singleton, Extension Service agent for Leflore County, said the rains came at a critical time for farmers because cotton is at its peak moisture requirement right now.
"The crop needs on average one quarter of an inch per day, and the two to three inches that fell yesterday will go along way toward keeping moisture in the soil," Singleton said.
One rainstorm will not make an entire season's crop, Singleton said. However, he said rainfall so far this year may lead to an above average yield.
The same storms that assisted farmers knocked out power to about 200 Greenwood Utilities customers late Thursday and early this morning. Mike Nix of Greenwood Utilities said two transformers were hit by lightning, but power was restored by 5:30 this morning. The transformers were back online by 7:30 a.m.
Thunderstorm activity was heavy across the state. At one point Thursday, Entergy Mississippi had 25,000 customers without power, primarily due to lightning knocking out transmission equipment.
Checky Herrington, an Entergy spokesman in Jackson, said crews worked Friday morning to restore power to about 500 customers from Thursday's storms, primarily in the Natchez area. In addition, he said another 500 customers in the Cleveland to Kosciusko areas were temporarily without power Friday morning due to a new round of storms.
