Chief Deputy Mike Mitchell of the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department said three accidents occurred in close proximity about 2 p.m. on Interstate 59 near Savoy. A least one driver was arrested and charged with DUI.

Mitchell said Staff Sgt. J.M. Cain of the Mississippi Highway Patrol's Troop H was working a minor accident involving a sport utility vehicle that hydroplaned during the rain. He said the driver of the SUV was in Cain's stationary patrol car filling out paperwork when a logging truck apparently struck the patrol car.

Mitchell said the impact apparently caused the patrol car to strike a stationary Metro ambulance. The SUV driver, who suffered head and body trauma, was transported to Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center. No details were available on his condition.

The storm also flooded streets and, in the Suqualena community, a tree fell on John Keller's house on Woods Road and caused moderate damage. Clarence Butler, director of the Lauderdale County Emergency Management Agency, said his was the only report of damage of that kind in Lauderdale County.

Mike Reich, spokesman for East Mississippi Electric Power Association, said storms caused about 3,500 customers to lose power early Wednesday afternoon in the Collinsville area. He said power was restored to about half of those customers by 3 p.m.; he expected power to be restored to the rest Wednesday night.

Kurt Brautigam, spokesman for Mississippi Power Co., reported no major power outages in the Meridian area. He said a small number of customers reported a loss of power near Newton, Decatur and Union, but he expected it to be restored by Wednesday night.

John Baxter of the National Weather Service in Meridian said Wednesday's weather is typical of this time of year. He said he had no reports of tornado touch downs in Lauderdale County.

Baxter said, however, at least two funnel clouds were spotted - one in the northwest part of the county and one in the southwest part of the county.

"For the next four to six weeks the potential is certainly there for severe weather," Baxter said. "But we have had several reports of tornadoes in the central part of the state."