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* We had quite the storm system go through Illinois yesterday…

High winds, pounding rain, lightning, and hail combined to cause widespread reports of damage throughout central Illinois.

WAND StormCenter 17 received numerous reports of damage in Decatur - ranging from downed trees to flooded streets.

In Springfield, WAND StormCenter 17 received a number of reports of downed power lines and sporadic damage throughout the city.

In Girard, at least seven homes were damaged.

A neighbor lost a tree last night. A crew is cutting it up into little pieces as I write this.

* Also in my neighborhood yesterday…

A 35-year-old fugitive from Ohio was arrested after he allegedly abandoned a stolen vehicle and fled on foot into the woods near the University of Illinois Springfield on Tuesday afternoon.

The search for Alan J. Gordon prompted email alerts to UIS students and parents in the Ball-Chatham School District.

Gordon, who was taken into custody about an hour and a half after the search began, is accused of crashing the stolen car near a wooded area along the UIS soccer fields on the campus’ east side, according to Chief Deputy Jack Campbell of the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office.

I didn’t even know it was going on.

Anyway, how did your neighborhood fare during yesterday’s storms?

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Apr 20, 11 @ 8:53 am

Comments

Drenched but intact in Oak Park. Big time lightning and thunder last night on the walk from the el.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Apr 20, 11 @ 8:59 am
Had a lot of rain yesterday and last night here in the Illinois River Valley. More than what they called for. Probably over two inches. Had a lot of lightning, thunder last night, knocked out the satellite feed for a while. Quite windy yesterday afternoon. Creeks and rivers are coming up but no other damage I’ve seen. Probably will get some minor flooding.

Comment by Irish Wednesday, Apr 20, 11 @ 9:07 am
Wet, no visible long term damage, Des Plaines river up, but not rising anymore. Approx 1.4 feet away from the first level of flooding.

Comment by Plutocrat03 Wednesday, Apr 20, 11 @ 9:08 am
We live in Southern Illinois in Gallatin County. My nephew house has a large amount of damage with windows knocked out and one wall seperated from the roof. Almost all of his trees are either down or damaged along with one barn that is mostly destroyed. State crews were out all night clearing roads in the area.

Comment by nieva Wednesday, Apr 20, 11 @ 9:14 am
Lots of water, and roof damage. We were without power from 6:15 last night until this morning. I am near Girard and just north of Litchfield and the tornados were unyeilding to everything in its path. Pray we had no loss of life. Thank God.

Comment by Ain't No Justice Wednesday, Apr 20, 11 @ 9:51 am
Lots of rain and lightning on my trip home to Berwyn from Naperville last night. Thunder and lightning through the night. I had trouble sleeping due to the 80lb of quivering fur next to me (aka my dog, Spikey).

Comment by cermak_rd Wednesday, Apr 20, 11 @ 10:02 am
It was so windy in my neighborhood I thought the legislature was back in town.

Comment by ILPundit Wednesday, Apr 20, 11 @ 10:07 am
Thousands still without power in the Deep South. Many trees down and branches litter the landscape. Some major property damage, quite a bit of minor property damage….Williamson/Jackson counties.

Comment by Deep South Wednesday, Apr 20, 11 @ 10:14 am
We are fine but I can’t say the same for our brand new police station, which lost roughly half of its roof at the end of its first day open to the public.

Comment by Barton Lorimor Wednesday, Apr 20, 11 @ 10:54 am
The first day? Oy.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Apr 20, 11 @ 10:56 am
Wind gusts of 95 mph were recorded in far southern IL. Here in the Patch, we had hail 3 times yesterday — once in the morning and twice in the evening.

I knew something was bound to happen when storm chasers from all over the Midwest (many of whom have their own live webcams and can be tracked on sites such as Tornado Alley Live) started lining up along I-70 yesterday afternoon.

Still, it could have been a lot worse; 7 years ago today a tornado killed 8 people in Utica, two of whom I knew personally.

Comment by Secret Square Wednesday, Apr 20, 11 @ 10:58 am
largely drench but still in good shape. hope everyone else is as well.

Comment by levois Wednesday, Apr 20, 11 @ 11:30 am
Driving around lakes of water going home following the storm. A few tree branches down but nothing too major.

During the storm I was in Church (it IS Holy Week) which was darkened for the Hymn of Kassiani as we Greek Orthodox Christians prepare for the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Pretty spooky with loud thunder and flashes of lightening along with hail all around us!

Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Wednesday, Apr 20, 11 @ 12:50 pm
Rich et al, I was in Springfield and kept abreast of the storms using a DROID application called Scanner Radio Pro. It monitors the emergency services staff and you can hear the weather spotters in real time. I find it very useful to stay clear of on-coming storms.

Comment by LINK Wednesday, Apr 20, 11 @ 1:33 pm
It’s bad here!!! Several grain complexes are completely gone. Grain bins landed on equipment and has damaged all of that. A church lost its steeple. Houses are damaged all over. No school because places have no power. Some people are told they will not have power for days. There are several unplanned skylights in people’s sheds, garages, and houses. Several places missing roofs. Trees down everywhere. The insurance companies have said they are only dealing with not livable houses for the next 36 hours,and will deal with the rest afterwards. Glad all are alive.

Comment by Southeastern Illinois Wednesday, Apr 20, 11 @ 2:10 pm
I got some hail. And the mudholes in on my dirt road are now waterholes on my mud road .

Comment by Timmeh Wednesday, Apr 20, 11 @ 5:46 pm
Yeah, it’s first day. This from a region whose contractors just went through rebuilding roofs on hundreds of homes and businesses that blew off during the May 8, 2009 dericho.

Comment by Barton Lorimor Thursday, Apr 21, 11 @ 12:02 am