Tonight's thunderstorms leave about 700 FPL customers without power

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Weather-related power outages have left about 700 customers across Palm Beach County in the dark Friday evening, a Florida Power & Light Co. spokesman said.

As of 8:30 p.m., crews were working to restore power to the affected areas, the bulk of them being in the West Palm Beach area, spokesman Bryan Garner said.

A band of thunderstorms stretching from Jupiter to westernmost Boca Raton moved through Palm Beach County starting around 5 p.m. this evening, the National Weather Service said.

The storm dumped dime-sized hail on Tequesta at about 5 p.m., and pea-sized pieces were falling in Palm Beach Gardens soon afterward.

There were estimates that 1 to 2 inches of rain had fallen from Tequesta to Palm Beach Gardens, and up to 3 inches in the Everglades as of 6 p.m.

A severe thunderstorm passed through St. Lucie Count, bringing quarter-sized hail and lightning.

Showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue across Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast through Saturday's early hours.

The forecast for Palm Beach County calls for a 60 percent chance of rain tonight, while there will be a 40 percent chance of rain.

The weather service is virtually guranteeing rain on the Treasure Coast on Saturday, saying the region has a 100 percent chance of having it fall. It lists the chance for rain in Palm Beach County at 80 percent.