Firefighters responded Thursday afternoon to a possible structure fire caused by a lightning strike.

The Monticello Drive home did not actually catch fire – lightning struck a tree next to the building and burned some wires going into the home’s basement, causing smoke but no flames.

Meanwhile, power was also briefly out on McPherson Street as lightning continued to strike down all around the Troy area.

In addition to the lightning strikes, torrential rain fell throughout the county and is expected to continue to fall throughout the day today.

“It’s going to be persistent through at least midday Thursday,” said Chris Darden, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Birmingham. “We’re predicting about two inches of rainfall with it tapering off late tomorrow after dark.”

Darden said severe weather isn’t necessarily expected with the storm system and Troy was just south of the flood watch Thursday, but Darden said the heavy rainfall could certainly cause issues in the area as well as lightning strikes.

The rain is not going to end any time soon either, Darden said.

“We’re forecasting light showers Saturday and into Sunday and then another round starts to develop and move in,” Darden said. “Some more heavy rain is expected in this area. It will probably not be a wash-out, but there will be periodic showers with it being wet again Monday and Tuesday.”

Overall, Darden expects 3.5 to 4 inches of rainfall through to the new year.