Thunderstorms rolled through Central Oregon Thursday afternoon bringing a lot of heavy rain, thunder and lightning. It led to flooded roads and at least one tree was struck by lightning.
The storm reached Bend a little before 2:00 p.m.
Several streets in the city flooded, including at underpasses on Franklin Avenue and Greenwood Avenue at NE 1st Street. At least one car appeared to get stuck in the water beneath the 1st and Greenwood underpass.
In Southeast Bend near Gardenside Park, lighting hit a tree and got the attention of resident Mike Davis.
“It was like a bomb went off,” Davis said. “Literally a ‘boom,’ the house shook. There was a big, orange fireball.”
Davis said there was a power surge with it, causing him to have to turn his appliances back on.
Farther north in Warm Springs, the Oregon Department of Transportation reported a landslide on Highway 26 Thursday afternoon. Traffic was being restricted to one lane with flaggers at the scene.
