ST. GEORGE – The skies opened up and the rains fell upon St. George and the surrounding area Monday evening as if being thrown down by some angry god’s short-lived temper tantrum.

Gutters along the roads quickly overflowed while the middle of some roadways became small rivers following the downpour that started around 8:30 p.m. As the rain fell the winds also picked up and tore limbs from trees in some places.

Along the roadside in front of the Megaplex Theater on Main Street, the winds proved too much for one of the small trees lining the street. It was uprooted and dropped across the northbound lanes of Main Street.

The St. George Communications Center was made aware of the fallen tree and sent an officer to survey the leafy carnage. When the officer arrived at the scene he found some people already trying to get the tree out of the street.

“When I arrived there was an individual with a truck and a tow strap and several citizens who stopped to help,” St. George Police Sgt. Spencer Holmes said. “Working with those guys with their truck and the other citizens we were able to pull (the tree) from the middle of the road to just one lane.”

Holmes kept his police vehicle parked in the lane ahead of the downed tree until someone from the city’s Street Division arrived with heavy equipment and finished pulling the small tree out of the road.

Holmes said the police had been responding to wind-triggered alarms across the city. City officials are also watching local waters for potential flash flooding.

To his knowledge, Holmes said no car accidents occurred in connection with the sudden storm.

Another, smaller tree at the Bloomington County Club golf course was a victim of the storm as it was uprooted by the winds as well.

Over in Hurricane, Hurricane City Police Sgt. Brandon Buell said 1150 W 200 South had been closed as a precaution. It wasn’t flooded, he said, yet the area was still closed for safety reasons.

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