Thunderstorms passing through metro Atlanta on Saturday night briefly shut down Hartsfield Jackson International Airport and left tens of thousands of residents without electricity.

Georgia Power reported about 143,000 customers were without electricity as of about 10:45 p.m. Utility spokesman Jeff Wilson said no restoration time had been set.

"We hope to have the majority of customers back on by 5 p.m., Sunday," Wilson said, pointing out that Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb and Cherokee counties were among the hardest-hit areas.

National Weather Service forecasters reported lightning and 50 m.p.h. wind gusts at Hartsfield shortly before 8 p.m., when the airport was ordered temporarily closed to arrivals and departures.

About 100 planes were delayed on the ground for nearly an hour, and more than two dozen Delta Air Line and AirTran flights were diverted because of lightning, airport officials said.

"Because the aircraft were already near Atlanta, the diversions took place at airports relatively near to Atlanta," Delta spokeswoman Chris Kelly said.

Twelve Delta flights were diverted to Columbus, Memphis and Huntsville, Ala., among other locations, Kelly said.

AirTran spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver said the airline temporarily diverted about 15 flights to Columbus, Macon, Augusta, Chattanooga, Montgomery and Huntsville.

Late Saturday, in the North Druid Hills area, a half-dozen residents stood, flashlights in hand, to warn motorists on Clifton Road just north of Ponce de Leon Avenue.

Two large oak trees had fallen across a dark bend in the road, blocking the street. They also had knocked down power lines, and live wires were strewn across the ground.

"All of a sudden, this huge wind came through, but it only lasted half a minute," said Conrad Tengler, who was visiting his mother-in-law's house nearby.

Residents said a teenager crashed his small car into one of the two trees as he was dodging falling branches and power lines. The youth's parents came to get him, and he was not believed seriously hurt.

Neighbors said they made several phone calls to police since the trees fell about 7:15 p.m. They were still waiting for emergency responders to return their calls or to arrive at the scene at 10:40 p.m.

"Everybody's called. We're not expecting them to clear up the street, just to come with some flares so people don't kill themselves" by driving into the fallen trees, said Harriet Spencer, who lives in the neighborhood.

Atlanta Fire Department spokesman Bobby Stewart said fire crews were spread out throughout the city helping to clear roads. "We do have significant trees and power lines down throughout the city," Stewart said.

Downed trees also blocked parts of I-85 southbound near Tuskeegee Airmen Parkway, formerly Camp Creek Parkway, leading to the airport. Debris also was reported in Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta.

High winds knocked askew a scaffold outside the Omni Hotel downtown. Police closed Marietta Street between Andrew Young International Boulevard and Park Avenue West while workers sought to secure the scaffold.

The Weather Service predicted a 20 percent chance of rain through Sunday afternoon, with a high in the mid 90s Sunday.