Paul Boehlke-KTVB

A topple tree blocked Roosevelt Street in Boise.

BOISE -- A cold front raced through the Treasure Valley this afternoon knocking down trees and power lines and causing havoc on area roads.

Idaho's Chief Meteorologist Rick Lantz says brief winds of 25 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph accompanied the front will blew through Boise just after 4 p.m. and moved on to the east. The winds were expected to diminish by 6 p.m.

He says temperatures are expected to drop by as much as 15 degrees in some places. Friday's high temperatures will be significantly lower than today.

Idaho Power says those winds have toppled power lines and poles across the Ada and Canyon counties. As of 5:15 p.m., 8,500 customers were without electricity.

The biggest area affected is Homedale, where around 4,000 customers have been without electricity since 3:45 p.m.

There are also scattered outages reported in Meridian, Kuna, Boise, Idaho City and Mountain Home.

Idaho Power spokesman Russ Jones says crews are working to restore power to the affected areas. He says the outages are weather-related and he expects it will be a long night for their crews.

Ada County dispatch has being flooded with calls this afternoon from people reporting downed power lines and fallen trees.

There are power lines down at 4th and Linder in Kuna and at 46th and Adams in Garden City.

There is also a tree blocking both lanes of traffic on Roosevelt Street south of Emerald Street.

Dispatchers are extremely busy managing these calls, so please avoid calling them for updates on damage reports, limit the calls to emergencies only.