NATCHEZ &045; The sun was shining bright Sunday afternoon, but reminders of Saturday evening’s storms could still be found throughout the Miss-Lou. In fact, The Dart found one of them Sunday on Oak Street.

There, crews from Chain Electric, a utility contractor based in Hattiesburg, were busy stringing new power lines along the street and, before 4 p.m., had flicked the switch to restore power to nearby residents.

The work was necessary because high winds snapped a thick tree next to a personal care home for the elderly on that street. That tree top, in turn, pulled down a power line that snapped the nearest electric pole when it fell.

That incident was just one of many throughout the region as the result of winds that gusted up to 45 miles per hour at times Saturday.

&uot;I heard a snap Š then another snap Š and then the lights went out,&uot; said an employee of the personal care home. &uot;And they’ve been out ever since.&uot;

Crews from Chain Electric had been working at and around that site all day, according to Crew Foreman Richard Anderson.

And they were only two of many crews &045; more than 90 workers in all &045; Entergy called from across the state to help restore power.

Little more than 200 customers were still without power Sunday night, and power was expected to be restored by this morning, said Entergy Customer Service Representative Stephen Carothers. At one time Saturday night, Entergy said the storm left about 6,500 customers without power. Figures on how many non-Entergy customers throughout the Miss-Lou were still without power Sunday night could be obtained by press time.

But residents of Oak Street were just glad their lights &045; and air conditioning &045; were finally back on. &uot;Are the lights back on?&uot; asked one resident circling the area in his car. &uot;I’ve been waiting until then to go back in the house.&uot;