A threat of hail? Winds gusting up to 60 mph? Lightning? Thunder?

Wednesday was beginning to look a lot like mid-July.

A line of severe thunderstorms streaked through the region just after nightfall, bringing cracks, crackles and cooler air after an afternoon of swampy heat.

In and around Lewiston, it was mostly howling winds and flashes of lightning. Across Oxford County, things got a little more lively, with driving rain and claps of thunder.

In East Dixfield, Nancy Townsend Johnson said her neighbors had been shooting off fireworks in the early evening. At some point after dark, Johnson realized that the noise wasn’t coming from man-made explosives.

“Watching Mother Nature’s fireworks overhead, and our neighbor’s fireworks across the way,” Johnson said just after 8 p.m. “Maine, the way life should be!”

Later Wednesday night, at least one person in Sweden reported that tornado-like winds took down several trees. There was a report of similar activity in Lovell, although those reports had not been confirmed, meteorologists said.

Weather forecasters had been warning of storms all day. A severe weather warning was issued at about 7 p.m., with meteorologists warning of high winds and the potential for quarter-sized hail.

The warning was expired an hour later as the storm system weakened.

By the time it was over, Central Maine Power was reporting roughly 2,700 power outages in the area, many in heavily wooded Oxford County where 500 were without power. In Kennebec County, 1,600 were in the dark. In Androscoggin County, 160 were without power by 9 p.m.

Things were wilder in Northern Maine, where weather officials were warning of possible tornadoes. Meteorologists reported signs that a tornado may have touched down near the town of Patten in Aroostook County, although it had not been confirmed.

A severe thunderstorm warning remained in effect there until 10 p.m.

Weather forecasters say an approaching cold front will mingle with hot and humid air on Thursday, which likely will mean more storms. Cooler temperatures are expected by the end of the week.