By NICK VLAHOS and
JEFF LAMPE
For The Weekly Post
The eerie sound of tornado sirens wailing Monday night were a precursor to high winds that left damage in their wake across the area. Storms felled trees, flooded roads and disrupted electricity service for thousands.
Farmington was among the hardest-hit communities. Power poles on Main Street, Knox Road 2300 East and Industry Road were broken, according to the Fulton County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency. Power lines and tree branches also were felled, but no building damage or injuries were reported, Farmington Police Chief Chris Darsham said.
According to the police chief, tornado sirens in Farmington sounded shortly before 8 p.m. Monday. There were reports of a tornado on the ground west of town. As of Tuesday afternoon, the National Weather Service office in Lincoln had not confirmed any tornadoes in Fulton, Knox, Peoria or Stark counties.
Power in most of Farmington went out about 8:30 p.m., Darsham said. As of Tuesday afternoon, electricity in the western two-thirds of the city had not been restored.
Ameren Illinois suggested power might not return to 80% of Farmington customers until 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to Darsham.
“We’re struggling trying to charge our batteries for our radios, trying to keep our phones charged,” he said from his darkened offices. “A lot of people in town are losing their food, because their freezers are not going to keep it cold that long.
“It’s probably one of our worst storms we’ve had a long time. We haven’t been without power for this long.”
Dozens of Elmwood residents also were without power Tuesday afternoon, as were Ameren rural customers. Ameren reported power outages in just about every area community.
Regarding storm damage, a large maple tree split and fell onto the west side of the BYE Ambulance garage in Elmwood and rendered three bays unusable because of roof damage.
Peggy Gibson of BYE said CAD Construction of Tremont, which built the garage, had been contacted and was planning to replace three roof trusses. Sagging was evident inside the garage
Elsewhere, a wind gust of 105 mph was reported near Tanners Orchard south of Camp Grove, according to the Weather Service. The wind destroyed a corn crib. Winds of 71 mph in Elmwood and 58 mph in Trivoli also were reported.
Authorities in Galva reported widespread tree damage and at least four power lines downed. U.S. Route 34 was blocked by felled tree limbs. Other limbs fell on at least three residences; one of them sustained roof damage, a broken window and a gas leak, according to the Weather Service. It reported Galva received about three-quarters of an inch of rain.
Trees and power lines were reported on the ground in Wyoming and Toulon, which was without power as of noon Tuesday.
