By By Paul Keane
Publisher
'Twas the day before Christmas, and all through the town – downed power lines, homes without electricity and a general headache for law enforcement, public safety and public utility officials and workers throughout Christmas Eve.
A strong line of thunderstorms rolled through Atmore early Christmas Eve morning, bearing more problems than gifts for local officials.
According to scanner reports and dispatchers with the Atmore Police Department, the real problems began at about 4 a.m. Tuesday. That's when at least three power lines were reported being down, knocking out power in at least one residential area.
The homes around the former Vanity Fair building were without power much of the early morning as crews attempted to fix a downed power line in that area. Another power line was reported down near St. Robert's Catholic Church.
Power in the downtown area appeared to stay on throughout the entire ordeal. Atmore and the surrounding area was under a tornado watch and/or warning for most of Monday night.
Limbs and debris were scattered throughout the town by Tuesday morning, but the storms were not expected to hamper the travel plans for Santa Claus.
By late Tuesday, most of the storms were expected to clear out, and Christmas Day was expected to be partly cloudy and dry, with temperatures being in the 50s for highs and in the 30s for lows. Heading into the final days of 2002, lows were expected to dip below freezing, with highs remaining in the 50s and skies remaining partly cloudy for the rest of the week and into New Years Eve.