Severe storms that blew through early Wednesday left power outages and scattered debris in various areas around the Plateau.  Volunteer Energy Co-operative reports almost 2000 customers are without power, with the higher percentage of outages being relegated to  Cumberland, Hamilton, Meigs, and Roane Counties.  Some areas are reporting trees down and roadways blocked due to the high wind gusts which reached upwards to 70 MPH.  VEC is dispatching crews and asks that you avoid those areas as they attempt to re-establish power.