Cleanup is continuing on Monday after severe thunderstorms moved across South Central Illinois early Sunday evening. Thousands were left without power as trees fell into powerlines and some poles broke. A large amount of the power is back on Monday morning, but power crews still have considerable work to do to get electricity back for everyone.
A tornado warning was issued for most of the area including Marion, Clinton, Washington, and Fayette Counties as the line of extremely heavy storms and strong winds moved through. There was one report of a funnel cloud aloft north of Conservation Road in the rural Patoka area, but no known touchdown. So far there have been no reports of injuries.
The storm dumped 1.93 inches of rain at the Salem Water Treatment Plant and 1.05 inches at the Centralia Water Treatment Plant. One gate of Raccoon Lake was open three feet to get rid of excess water causing Brick Hill Road downstream to flood.
A tree crashes through the roof of the Donna Nelson mobile home at the mobile home park on Old US 51 South.
Marion County Sheriff Kevin Cripps and Salem Police Chief Kyle Ambuehl are encouraging everyone to stay home to help them and to avoid a tragedy if they come into contact with a live power line. Some roads are still impassable Monday morning because of downed trees, sometimes with live power lines running through them.
Here are the latest outage numbers. Ameren Illinois as of 8 am is reporting 470 customers out in Salem, 1,100 in the Farina-Laclede area, 163 in Sandoval, 194 in Alma, 44 in Odin, 12 in Centralia, and five in Patoka. At last report, 182 were still without power in Hoyleton and 58 in Beckemeyer. Tri-County Electric is reporting 482 Marion County customers still without power down from more than 3,600 after the storm first moved through. Tri-County Electric and Ameren have not yet provided restoration time for those still without power.
Salem Firemen reported more than 20 storm-related calls, including two were damaged power lines started shed fires. Firemen report contents of a shed on the Alisa Barnes property on the 100 block of Woodland Drive caught fire damaging a few totes of clothing and causing some smoke damage. There was no structural damage. The second fire was at the Gilbert Sidener home in the 1200 block of West Bennett where a tree fell on a power line causing a fire in a backyard shed. The fire was confined to exterior siding. Firemen also responded to a home on Cedar Street where a large tree limb came through the roof of a residence.
Salem Emergency Management reports a home received heavy damage when struck by a falling tree at Trenary and Johnston Street on the northeast side.
A tree also came through part of the roof of the Donna Nelson home in the mobile home park on US 51 south of Sandoval.
Marion County Sheriff’s Deputies and Iuka Firemen were dispatched to Forbes State Park where two vehicles were stuck between two large downed trees near the east entrance. Sheriff Kevin Cripps says the trees were cut up by deputies and Iuka Firemen to reopen the road. There was minor damage reported at the campgrounds, but no injuries.
Camper overturns on Illinois Route 127 near Carlyle Lake. Photo by Rachell Burkett.
There was also damage to campers in the Coles Creek campground on Carlyle Lake near Boulder in Clinton County and a large camper that overturned on its top off Illinois Route 127 north of Carlyle near the lake. An estimated eight power poles were also knocked down along Route 127 North of Carlyle.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Department called out three additional deputies Sunday night to handle calls while Salem Police also have added officers on the street to handle the large call volume about damage left behind by the storms.
The storm also contained hail. The Salem area mostly received pea-sized hail.
This story will be updated as more information is received. If you have information on the damage, please let us know. Photos can be sent to news@wjbdradio.com.
