A brief but powerful storm that battered the Statesboro area Monday downed a large pecan tree that resulted in a lengthy power outage for nearly 5,000 customers. Greg Proctor, the manager of member services for Excelsior Electric Membership Corporation, said the tree snapped power lines taut and caused five power poles along Lanier Drive near Stadium Walk to break.The Statesboro Police Department reported that downed power lines resulted in the closure of Lanier Drive between Robin Hood Trail and Chandler Road overnight Tuesday.The storm, which blew through shortly after 5 p.m., caused an outage that meant some customers were without power for more than 15 hours, Proctor said.The outage affected 1,263 customers, but 643 had power restored by 7 p.m., Proctor said.Linemen and others “worked through the night to replace” poles and lines, and the remainder of customers saw power restored by 9:21 a.m. Tuesday, he said.The pole and line breakage caused by the large tree affected several underground taps and multiple transformers, he said.Georgia Power also reported more than 3,500 customers without power because of the storm, with nearly all of them restored Monday night, spokesman Mark Williams said. Bulloch County Public Safety Director Ted Wynn said no damage was reported besides the power outages.Holli Deal Bragg may be reached at (912) 489-9414.