Officials from the National Weather Service were on their way to Cayuga County Wednesday afternoon to determine whether or not a tornado might have touched down overnight in Cato.

Cayuga County Emergency Management Director Brian Dahl said a powerful storm blew down trees and power lines early Wednesday morning, knocking out power to about 1,600 homes. Most of the power outages had been restored by Wednesday afternoon.

Dahl said that his office planned to meet Wednesday in the village of Cato with Buffalo-based National Weather Service staffers, who would assess the damage and make a determination whether a tornado or simply an intense thunderstorm had hit the area.

Dahl said that after being made aware of the storm damage early Wednesday morning, his office contacted fire department chiefs and highway departments in the affected area to see if any county assistance would be needed with the cleanup.

Dahl said that only a few roads had been blocked by debris and local crews cleared them.