UPDATE: Power was restored about 1 p.m. Ameren spokeswoman Susan Gallagher told the Associated Press that a black snake that slithered between two cables near the Capitol was the culprit.

During the outage, staffers, lobbyists and visitors were forced to take shelter in areas with light. Doors that are always shut swung open, and people congregated around windows and in the rotunda, which gets light through the ceiling.

Staffers in the office of Democratic Reps. Michael Corcoran, Steve Brown and Terry Swinger managed to find candles to light, and they even put a candle in Brown’s office so he could find his way.

Upstairs, the third floor hallways that usually buzz with lobbyists were deserted, and many took their issues outside. But strangely, the legislative library, where huge windows brought in oceans of daylight, was also virtually empty.

JEFFERSON CITY — While the Senate was debating terrorists, and the House was arguing about bullies, the lights went out in the Missouri Capitol.

“The terrorists must be coming to Missouri,” said Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, as the lights went out. Cunningham was in the middle of presenting a House resolution that would send a message to Congress expressing Missouri’s desire to not be home to any Guantanamo Bay prisoners. Cunningham, it appears, was joking.

At the time, the House was debating anti-bullying legislation, and House leaders continued the debate. The Senate stayed in session long enough for Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields to add an amendment to the anti-terrorist resolution adding Kansas to the list of states that Missourians would object to being home to terrorists.

Leavenworth federal prison is in Kansas near Shields’ hometown of St. Joe.

“These folks are extremely dangerous,” said Sen. Luann Ridgeway, R-Smithville. “There was a report on Fox News about them.”

Another senator quipped that the power outage was the “revenge of Ameren.” The utility provides power to the Capitol and wasn’t too happy when it’s nuclear plant bill died earlier in session.

Shields said the power outage was due to a transformer that was out and might last awhile. The Senate went to recess until 2:30 p.m.

But the House kept on debating.

And many of the representatives let their “followers” on Twitter know what was going on:

“Can’t ring bell to signal vote. Can’t figure if Members stuck in elevators,” wrote state Rep. John Burnett, D-Kansas City.

And offered Jason Kander, D-Kansas City: “How much do you wish we had on powdered whigs right now? The irony here is that it’s a throwback themed discussion of gay rights.”

And for those wondering about the Don Meredith reference in the headline: He’s the former NFL quarterback who was a mainstay on Monday Night Football during the Howard Cosell days. Used to sing “turn out the lights” whenever he determined a game was over.