Power Outage in Albion, IL

A trained spotter reported a swath of downed trees and power lines near County Road 400.

Numerous trees were blown down in Albion. At least eight trees were blown down on the south side of Albion. The trees ranged from one to three feet in diameter. One tree fell in a pool. Power lines were blown down. A very large tree fell into a home, producing significant damage. Another tree landed on a car.

The tornado produced mainly tree damage. One steel high tension power pole was damaged. The average path width was 50 yards. Peak winds were estimated near 100 mph.

Widespread major damage occurred across the county. An insurance agent reported over 450 claims to his office alone. The 100-foot tall steeple of an old historic church in West Salem was toppled. The steeple punctured a hole in the roof as it fell. A house in West Salem suffered major damage when a large oak tree fell on it. West Salem firefighters worked through the following day to clear streets of downed trees. Elsewhere in northern Edwards County, a house was partially unroofed. Trees were uprooted, and power lines were down. Numerous grain bins, machine sheds, and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed.

Large tree limbs were blown down. One of them landed on a power line.

Numerous large tree limbs and a few large trees were blown down. Some of the tree limbs severed power lines. At least five utility poles were snapped.

Trees and power lines were blown down countywide. The community of West Salem received the brunt of the storm, where roofs were blown off two structures, and a number of other homes were damaged by falling trees. A snapped telephone pole resulted in a 90-minute power outage for much of West Salem. In Browns, a heavy iron chair was blown off a porch and into a car. Several limbs were down.

A 157-year-old wooden church in Samsville suffered severe wind damage. Much of the structure collapsed, while a few exterior walls remained partially standing. Most of the interior contents were destroyed, except for those in the basement. Elsewhere to the north of Albion, a large machine shed, several other sheds, and barns were heavily damaged or destroyed. At least two vehicles and a trailer were demolished by a large tree north of Albion. Widespread damage to trees and power lines occurred in the northern half of the county. A house trailer was split in half by a downed tree. Around eight power poles, along with some power lines, were down across Route 130 from West Salem northward to the county line. About eight miles south-southwest of Albion, the roof was peeled off a mobile home and blown into a pond. A dog alone in the mobile home survived, but the mobile home was uninhabitable.

A line of thunderstorms produced damaging winds countywide. The most severe damage appeared to be in southern parts of the county, between Grayville and Albion. Just northwest of Grayville, a residence was partially unroofed, the front porch was blown away, and a nearby shed was destroyed. At a nearby farm, another shed was destroyed, and a pickup truck was blown over. At a farm southwest of Albion, a grain bin was blown into a pond, and an equipment barn was destroyed. Power poles were broken 1 mile south of Browns and near the Richland County line. Along Illinois Route 130, about 10 utility poles were blown down, blocking the highway at the Richland County line. In West Salem, several large branches landed on roofs, and TV antennas and chimneys were damaged. Near Browns, a 60 by 72 foot storage building and its contents were heavily damaged. Other structures were damaged south of Browns.