Storm Batters University City

A powerful storm packing heavy rain and strong winds battered University City Saturday afternoon.

A drive through U City Sunday morning revealed a mess of leaves, broken branches and downed trees, especially in the Parkview Gardens neighborhood behind the Loop. 

 in the parking lot behind were damaged in Saturday's severe weather episode. Many of the vehicles had multiple windows blown out. No word on exactly what caused the damage. There were reports of pea size hail in the area, and a man working Fitz's also reported seeing the wind blow gravel off a nearby building.

National Weather Service meteorologist Mark Britt told Patch that initial radar reports indicated the incident might have been a microburst, "which would be some strong winds," Britt said. 

Nearly 1,200 Ameren Missouri customers were without power following Saturday's storm. As of Sunday afternoon that number was down to a little over a 100.