KSPR is currently broadcasting on Dish Network in Joplin as a result of last week's storms. The 1,000 ft. KSN/KODE broadcast tower came crashing down early friday.

Doyal Bryan remembers last weeks' storms, "sounded like a whizzing sound, first thing I thought of - freight train sound."

Early Friday morning he waited out the storm in his house. When he looked out his window, he found more damage than he expected.

"All I could see was the orange and I thought a crane had fell over," Bryan said.

However, it wasn't a crane. The tower couldn't face the wind, and it came crashing down, landing on a neighboring house. Minutes before, those inside the television station evacuated, but neighbors didn't have any warning.

"Yes, they knew at 7 o'clock that it was going to come down - told nobody except they did evacuate the station," said Bryan.

According to contractors, the tower is made to stand up to 70 MPH winds, but Friday, winds reached 85 MPH.

Those winds toppled more than the tv tower.

"It ranks right up there with the ice storms that we had in 2007 - it's approxiamately one-half of our customers," said Amy Bass, the Director of Corporate Communications at Empire District Electric.

83,000 Empire District Electric customers lost power last week. Customers like Sheri Roosevelt.

"Very trying. Living with kerosene lamps, cooking with a gas stove," Roosevelt said.

She's been without power for six days, but, today, her prayers were answered.

"I saw [utility trucks] in the alley and i thought yes! we'll have power - hopefully this storm moving in isn't going to take it out again," she said.

She wasn't the only one getting her lights on -- on Wednesday, Empire District Electric had fewer than 1,000 customers still in the dark.

Now, Roosevelt's prayers are changing. She's praying her power stays on and Wednesday's storms stay away.

dmagditch@kspr.com