RENO, NEV.--Insurance agents and others at AMS Users' GroupNational Conference were forced to scramble for giveawayflashlights at exhibit booths Monday when roaring winds cut powerto the Reno-Sparks Convention Center.

But darkness at the meeting center was only the beginning of thebizarre string of natural events that occurred between April 14 and15 during the conference here.

The windstorm began early Monday after local forecasters hadpredicted a sunny day with temperatures in the 60s. Forecasters,however, also warned of winds blowing up to 90 miles-per-hour.

Later television weather reports would place the gusts at 100m.p.h., although the National Weather Service reported a top figureof 60 m.p.h.

The winds were strong enough to knock out power to severalareas, downing power lines and trees and damaging constructionsites, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal.

The paper also said roofs were blown off of some buildings. Alocal television news broadcast showed one car crushed by a fallingtree.

Power to the convention center began blinking out inmid-afternoon, finally leaving the exhibit hall completely dark,except for a few emergency lights near the exits.

While some at the conference went for the exits and the daylightoutside, many remained and searched out flashlights that wouldenable them to continue roaming the show floor. Several exhibitorsheld the flashlights above their booth tables to draw in theremaining traffic.

Power to the convention center remained off for the rest of theday and into the middle of Tuesday. On Tuesday morning, threeearthquakes of magnitude 3 or more hit the area, the newspapersaid. Few among the conference-goers seemed aware of the tremors,however, and no damage was reported.

Adding insult to injury, Tuesday morning also brought a briefsnowstorm that dumped about an inch of the white stuff on Reno,after a relatively mild--if extremely windy--day on Monday.

Once power was restored, conference organizers shifted andexpanded the schedule to get in as many classes as possible. AMSUGalso sent a letter of apology to the attendees at their hotels,attaching a $25 certificate to be used for hotel meals.