ST. LOUIS – Ameren Missouri strategically placed crews in various parts of the state Friday in anticipation of a storm expected to leave behind power outages.

“We’ll have to monitor the storm throughout the night,” said Ben Lynch, Ameren Missouri director of distribution operating teams.

Officials encouraged customers to use the company’s power outage map to report any problems to the company’s outage center.

Lynch also reminds everyone to stay away from downed power lines.

“If they see a downed line in their backyard, do not walk up on the line,” Lynch said. “We want absolutely everyone to call into our Ameren system and we’ll dispatch our crews as quickly and as safely as we can.”

Jani Albright is the director of St. Charles County Emergency Management. She warned Friday’s storm would come through quickly and encouraged everyone to stay weather aware.

“Don’t wait until you hear the sirens or the weather radios go off to get to that shelter space,” Albright said. “Think ahead and try to plan.”

Albright encourages anyone taking shelter to wear shoes or have shoes nearby.