PLANO — Firefighters say lightning set a church on fire in Plano overnight.

The fire was confined to the steeple of Christ United Methodist Church at Coit and Parker roads.

The interior of the church was not damaged.

There were some people working at United Methodist when the lightning struck shortly before midnight Tuesday, but no one was hurt.

Lightning may also be to blame for a house fire in far East Dallas just before 2 a.m. Wednesday.

The family in the home in the 3200 block of Fort Bend Drive escaped without injury.

Oncor reports as many as 4,500 customers were without power as a result of weather-related blackouts early Tuesday.

Morning thunderstorms in Dallas and Collin counties were also wreaking havoc with traffic tie-ups and minor street flooding. Another 4 inches of rain could fall today, the National Weather Service said.

As of 6:30 a.m., almost 4 inches of rain had fallen in southeast Dallas and possibly 5 inches had been recorded in Collin County, the weather service reported.

A flash flood warning was in effect for Collin County and northeastern Dallas County until 10:45 a.m., meaning flooding is imminent or occurring. Meanwhile, much of North Texas remained under a flash flood watch, which suggests the conditions are favorable.

Normal rainfall for August is about 2.03 inches of rain. Through Tuesday, the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport had recorded about 1.84 inches this month, with the bulk falling within the past few days.

A Collin County dispatcher said flooding has been reported in some areas of Allen, Fairview and Parker.

DallasNews.com contributed to this report.

E-mail cvega@wfaa.com