Lightning and high winds took out power all over the Island yesterday while forecasters recorded a record low temperature for the date.

But fed up and freezing islanders should take heart -- forecasters say temperatures are unlikely to dip so low again this year.

Belco said its men were scrambling around the Island from dawn to fix damaged power lines and they worked steadily throughout the day.

Two main circuits were taken out -- an area from Cavendish Heights to Crow Lane was taken down between 6 a.m and 7.30 a.m. while Harrington Sound was out over lunchtime.

Belco spokeswoman Robin Sidders said yesterday: "We have had scattered calls from across the Island -- we are not talking about large outages, we are talking about small pockets, small branch lines.'' And branches were at the root of the problem with the wind hitting trees which then dropped debris on to power lines.

"It started at five this morning -- most were in the central parishes of Warwick, Pembroke and Paget,'' Mrs. Sidders said.

"In some instances lightning was involved. A transformer was hit in Rural Drive affecting the Grape Bay Drive and Ardsheal Drive area.

"In most cases power was restored within about an hour, in the area of Longford Hill it took longer and power was restored later in the morning.

"All our crews have been out but we really haven't done badly at all -- we have completed most of what we had to do.

"In this situation it makes it difficult and time consuming to restore power -- there are different areas without power -- a few customers spread over a large area but we have to get to those areas.'' She said crews were on standby to deal with overnight problems.

But she said Belco had no plans for a massive programme of installing underground cables, although large chunks of the Island had this, including Hamilton, a large section of Harbour Road and the eastern end of North Shore Road.

She said: "Belco is in the third year of a $5 million refurbishment of its overhead lines and we are already seeing significant improvement in troublesome areas.'' Marine Police were called to deal with several boats in trouble including a motor boat found sinking off Red Hole near Harbour Road and a 30 foot craft which had broken loose from its mooring in Prudden Bay, Paget.

Harbour Radio also reported a 25 foot sail boat dragging its mooring in Ely's Harbour and a missing punt lost from Ferry Reach.

And last night's American Airlines flight from New York was cancelled because of dangerous conditions at the airport but it is expected to arrive this morning at 10.45 a.m.

As a result the return flight has been delayed for an estimated time of 11.45 a.m.

Meteorologist Elizabeth Nelson, of the Bermuda Weather Service said winds of 60 knots had been recorded yesterday but the wind and rain was likely to ease off during the weekend.

A few sunny breaks are predicted on Saturday with fluctuating weather giving way to brighter prospects next week.

She said: "Tuesday looks really nice, mostly sunny and dry.'' And she said Bermuda was not on the verge of a mini ice age despite sustained chilly weather which saw a record low for January 26 of 45.3 degrees.

She said: "The last two years have been mild although last January had a low of 44.9.

"This is just normal -- it's winter. It's nothing out of the ordinary.''