An intense late-summer rainstorm blew through southern, central and western Maine Saturday afternoon, bringing dramatic thunder and lightning and knocking out power to thousands of Central Maine Power customers.

Strong winds, driving rain and lightning began around 5 p.m. By 6, the storm was knocking down trees and power lines.

In Portland, lightning hit the Cumberland County Sheriff’s communication center, killing the radio system for a few moments until the backup system came online. Lewiston police were luckier; lightning struck next door to their headquarters.

“It was a spectacular light show,” said Sgt. David Chick.

Another nearby lightning strike knocked out traffic lights on Auburn’s Court, Main and Turner streets for a short time. At one point, the storm was so fierce that it blew shingles off a house on Fairway Drive, according to the Auburn Fire Department.

Wind, rain and lightning caused power outages throughout central and western Maine. At peak, an estimated 9,600 CMP customers lost power.

By 8 p.m., CMP had restored power to more than one-third of those customers. Crews were expected to work through the night to take care of the rest.

Augusta was hit hardest, with more than 2,000 outages at 8 p.m. Farmington had nearly 1,700, Bridgton nearly 1,500 and Alfred more than 1,100. A smattering of homes remained without electricity in Portland, Brunswick and Fairfield.