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Lehigh Acres residents, were, for the most part, pretty lucky last week as Southwest Florida experienced its first tropical storm of the season.

There was lots of rain and some wind, bringing isolated street flooding and power outages but, with the exception of a few palm fronds, there was little to no damage associated with then-Tropical Storm Elsa, which remained off the coast.

Karen Ryan, LCEC public relations director, said impact throughout the five-county area the electric co-op services was minimal.

“We had crews stationed in all areas and they responded around the clock so there were no extended outages. The total number of customers out varied because crews restored quickly,” Ryan said.

FPL, which serves other portions of Lehigh and Lee County, reported minimal disruption as well.

Of the FPL 283,250 customers served by FPL in Lee County, “8,070 experienced power outages, most of which were brief,” the utility provider said via email Friday, adding it does not break down outages by community and so could not provide Lehigh-specific numbers.

On the county level, many lessons were learned following Hurricane Irma in 2017 regarding flood mitigation, said Betsy Clayton, Lee County Communications director.

“Not at this time,” Clayton said Friday when asked if the county had been notified of any Elsa-related issued. “Lee County Natural Resources continues to monitor for any potential sheet flow. But mostly Lehigh’s infrastructure drained as designed during and immediately following Elsa. Lee DOT also continues to monitor throughout the county.”

The work that crews performed before Elsa — including clearing roadside ditches, swales and drainage canals — appears to have helped mitigate localized flooding in many areas that typically experience it, Clayton said.

“While the flood-mitigation efforts are phased-in and ongoing, it appears that many of the infrastructure projects undertaken helped mitigate localized flooding for Elsa,” Clayton said.

Clayton said Lee County DOT went out immediately following Elsa to take action to help water flow faster from roadways. The county also dispatched crews from the Department of Community Development and Emergency Management to assess any flooding that may have potentially impacted buildings.

Most of the county’s reports of such impacts were from places such as Pine Island and Captiva, according to Clayton.

Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Gregory Bueno, whose district encompasses 10 counties in Southwest Florida, said Lee County was similar to other counties in the region — with accidents keeping the department busy Tuesday and Wednesday, including one rollover on Interstate-75 in Lee County.

“We responded to quite a few crashes where drivers failed to drive to the conditions,” Bueno said. “Luckily, there was nothing that serious in nature.”

Bueno said there were no fatal crashes during the storm in Lee County.

Bueno said the storm was a reminder for drivers to drive cautiously during and after rainstorms.

“It’s important to remember to adjust your driving, adjust your speeds, no distractions,” Bueno said.

Bueno said the rain and the puddles that form on roads can lead to hyrdroplaning, which can send cars off the road.

Bueno said the early part of the storm Tuesday kept the department busiest though the aftermath of the storm was also dangerous due to pockets of standing water that had built up on some roads.

The Florida Department of Health cautions residents against swimming or wading in floodwaters. Children who play in floodwaters can be exposed to water contaminated with fecal matter or other waste.