[MARCH 13, 2006]
Sunday evening's storm was the worst of three
weekend storms that produced high winds, heavy rain and hail. A
violent storm coming out of Kansas City rampaged though Missouri and
Illinois. The greatest damage was reported in the most heavily
populated area that the storm struck: Springfield. The storm
maintained a dangerous level of intensity, traveling over 450 miles.
National Weather Service experts are out in the field surveying
damage today, putting together a report that will help assess the
storm's exact intensity, Ed Shimon from Lincoln said. A report is
expected later today.
A tornado appears to have made numerous touchdowns, dropping down
and then going back up again, over an extended area from Sangamon
County into southern Logan County, Shimon said.
The most severe activity began about 7:45 p.m. near Jacksonville.
The main storm line moved eastward, affecting southwest Springfield,
Sherman, Riverton, Buffalo, Elkhart, Mount Pulaski, Beason and
Latham, and continued past Rantoul.
Portions of Route 72 near Riverton and westward have been closed
due to debris on the highway.
Winds tore off roofs, blew down utility poles and trees.
Springfield was the most affected by the storm damage because of the
higher population density. Business areas on the southwest side,
around and including Wal-Mart and Gordman's, had extensive damage.
Debris, downed power lines and broken natural gas lines created
hazardous situations throughout the areas affected.
Around 10 p.m. looting was reported at some southwest Springfield
businesses that were damaged. This occurred while emergency
responders were occupied assisting storm response crews and
protecting the public from hazards created by the storm.
Travel through Springfield is not recommended today in order to
allow crews access to repair and cleanup.
Today's high winds are compounding cleanup work.
In Logan County crews are out cleaning areas south of Mount
Pulaski and Latham. Some roads are barricaded due to downed trees
and power lines.
A home near Latham was mostly destroyed, trapping its occupants,
but all escaped from the basement without injury.
Terry Storer, Logan County Emergency Management assistant
director, said that assessment is being made in the field this
morning to determine the structural damage or destruction done to
homes and buildings.
A number of damage incidents occurred around Steenbergen Cemetery. A
large tower went down, buildings were destroyed and some houses were
affected.
A helicopter was flying the lines to look for damage from Pontiac
through Latham and Mount Pulaski this morning. Power is still out in
scattered areas around Latham and Mount Pulaski. Elkhart had a
temporary loss of power last night.
No deaths or significant injuries have been reported in Logan
County. Four people were reported injured in Buffalo.
Other reports from the evening:
A vehicle left the Atlanta-Beason blacktop when the driver did
not see water running over the roadway. The vehicle landed in a
water-filled ditch. The occupants and driver did not sustain
injuries.
A Latham Fire Department truck and firemen responding to the
aftermath of the storm were trapped by fallen power lines for about
20 minutes.
A farmer east of Lincoln received a call from Illinois State
Police on Saturday night asking him what he wanted them to do with
his hog pen that was blocking Route 10.
A grain silo blocked traffic on Route 72 at Riverton last night.
Sunday's system resulted in scattered rainfall amounts from
one-fourth inch to 2-2 1/2 inches in the major storm track areas.
Scattered reports of hail up to 2 1/2 inches accompanied both
Saturday and Sunday's storms.
Saturday's storm dumped up to 5 1/2 inches in portions of
Illinois to the south, around Clay City, Effingham and
Lawrenceville.
