A line of severe thunderstorms uprooted trees and power lines and caused damage in the millions throughout Central Illinois.
The storms began forming in south-central Iowa around 6PM Friday evening and moved across central Illinois in a path that basically followed I-74. The area was put under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch and the first storm warnings for the area were issued shortly after. Thanks to a stalled front, the storms continued to move across the same areas, causing flooding problems just west of Peoria. Winds from the storm exceeded 90 miles per hour in some areas, and also produced a tornado in Fulton County near the town of Fairview.
Power outages at the height of the storm were near 40,000. As of Saturday Afternoon at 3:30, Ameren was reporting that just under 6,000 customers were still without power. Cooling centers were set up in hard hit Pekin and Canton.
Storms in the Bloomington-Normal area caused heavy damage on the south end of Bloomington, with an uprooted tree falling on a garage in the 1000 block of Front Street.
While Saturday expects to be a tranquil day, Sunday could see more storms that could again reach severe limits.
