Power Outage in Aurora, IL

Power lines were blown down near Herget Middle School.

This tornado began south of Dean St near 15th St in St Charles and tracked northeast. It passed over Boy Scout Island and the Fox River before lifting near the intersection of Stonehedge Rd and Persimmon Dr. Damage along the tornado's path consisted of several uprooted and damaged trees, downed power lines, roof shingles peeled off of houses, and a damaged HVAC unit on the roof of a construction facility.

There were multiple reports of tree and power line damage in the Aurora area. Some of the more significant reports included a 40 inch diameter Locust tree uprooted on Kennsington; a 36 inch diameter tree uprooted on West Downer; two 30 inch diameter trees snapped at the trunk, one on Havenshire Road and the other on Legacy; a 26 inch diameter tree uprooted on East Galena and a 20 inch diameter tree uprooted at Broadway and Washington.

A photo shared on social media showed a snapped tree that was blown down onto power lines just west of the intersection of Corron and Silver Glen Roads.

A photo shared on social media showed trees and power lines blown down blocking a road in downtown. Other tree limbs were blown down.

Multiple trees and power lines were blown down.

A photo was shared on social media of a large tree which snapped and fell onto power lines and broke a utility pole.

Trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down in Aurora. Several roads were blocked by fallen trees.

Trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down in Aurora. Several roads were blocked by fallen trees.

A 14 inch diameter tree was split in half in St. Charles. Power lines were also blown down.

A swath of wind damage occurred in Elgin starting north of Route 20 and west of Route 31 and continuing northeast between Route 31 and Dundee Avenue, ending south of Interstate 90. Numerous trees and tree limbs were blown down. Some trees were uprooted. Two tree limbs were blown down onto a car. Utility poles and power lines were also blown down.

Large tree limbs and small trees were blown down with power outages near Burlington and Empire Roads.

A power line was blown down near Indian Trail and Randall Roads northwest of Aurora.

Large trees and power lines were blown down onto a house and car near Garfield Avenue and Franklin Avenue.

Wind gusts were estimated to 70 mph. Trees and power lines were blown down.

Power lines down on Rt. 31 between I-88 and Airport Rd in North Aurora.

Winds measured to 60 mph knocked out power near the intersection of Randall Road and Bowes Road. Large tree limbs were blown down in north Elgin.

Heavy tree damage was reported near Cooper Avenue including power lines down.

Winds gusts between 40 and 46 mph occurred for several hours at the airport in Aurora. Power lines were reported down in Elburn by the fire department.

Large trees and power lines were blown down near Riverside and 3rd Avenues.

Power lines were blown down near Route 38 and Meredith Road. Utility poles were blown down on Keslinger Road at Country Life Road. A tree fell onto a house in North Aurora causing minor damage. Power lines were blown down on the east side of Aurora.

Trees and power lines were blown down in the Valley View area.

Wind gusts were estimated to 70 mph in St. Charles. High winds tore portions off the roof at St. Charles North High School. Roof debris, light poles, tree limbs and a crushed portable toilet littered the school grounds. About ten heating, ventilation and cooling units on the roof were either damaged or blown completely off the roof. Damage was also reported inside the school. A 150 year old oak tree was uprooted near Oxmoor Court. The falling tree broke a skylight on a house. Trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down across many parts of St. Charles.

A barn caught fire on Bliss Road after a power line was blown down.

Numerous tree limbs and power lines were blown down.

A tree was blown down onto power lines. The tree brought down wires between five utility poles and snapped two other poles.

A large tree was blown onto power lines near Route 25 and Dunham Road. The tree also sheered off top of a utility pole. Other large tree limbs were also blown down. Wind gusts estimated to 60 mph.

Tree limbs and power lines were blown down countywide.

Power lines and large tree limbs were blown down.

Several trees and power lines were blown down.

22 inch diameter tree snapped. Power out.

Freezing rain developed across portions of northern Illinois during the morning of February 22nd and continued into the early morning of February 23rd with the bulk of the freezing rain falling from mid afternoon through mid evening. Thousands of tree limbs and hundreds of power lines came down due to the weight of the ice and northeast winds gusting to 35 mph. Several trees also came down, including one in Arlington Heights that destroyed a detached garage. At least 210,000 customers lost power and power wasn't fully restored for some customers for several days. The hardest hit areas were in Lake, MeHenry and northern Cook Counties. Several roads were closed due to downed power lines and tree limbs. In some areas, plows were used to clear roads of downed tree limbs. Ice accumulation amounts ranged from 0.2 to 0.3 inches with locally higher amounts. Measured ice accumulations included 0.39 inches at DuPage Airport; 0.37 inches at Rockford Airport and 0.17 inches at Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling. ||A period of light freezing rain developed across the southeast suburbs of Chicago early in the morning of February 22nd with temperatures near freezing. Temperatures warmed above freezing by mid morning.||Heavy rain fell across east central Illinois in the afternoon and early evening of February 22nd with the heaviest rain across southern Ford and south central Iroquois Counties where localized flooding occurred. Storm total rainfall amounts included, in Iroquois County, 3.71 inches two miles north northwest of Cissna Park; 3.56 inches one mile south of Cissna Park; 3.51 inches two miles west northwest of Loda; 3.40 inches four miles east northeast of Milford and 3.35 inches four miles east northeast of Buckley. In Ford County, 3.86 inches in Gibson City; 3.29 inches three miles west northwest of Gibson City; 3.20 inches in Paxton and 2.93 inches four miles west southwest of Melvin.

High winds developed across northern Illinois during the evening of December 15th and continued into the early morning of December 16th. Wind gusts were frequently between 50 and 55 mph. Peak wind gusts included 69 mph in Sugar Grove in Kane County; 66 mph near Herbert in McHenry County; 67 mph at Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling; 66 mph at Chicago O'Hare Airport; 63 mph in Waukegan; 62 mph at the Rockford Airport; 61 mph at Chicago Midway Airport; 61 mph at West Chicago in DuPage County; 61 mph near Marengo in McHenry County; 60 mph near Dixon in Lee County; 58 mph near Crystal Lake in McHenry County and 58 mph at the National Weather Service office in Romeoville in Will County.||Wind damage included, in LaSalle County, a tree was blown down on North 39th Road, east of Triumph and a large tree limb over one foot in diameter fell onto an apartment building on Grant Avenue in LaSalle. In Kane County, a 15 foot tall evergreen was uprooted and leaning on power lines across from the Batavia High School. In DuPage County, power lines were blown down blocking 63rd Street in Downers Grove and multiple utility poles and power lines were blown down east of Wayne. In McHenry County, a medium size pine tree was blown down in Johnsburg. In Northern Cook County, a large tree was blown down onto a house in Skokie; Half of a large tree was blown down in Wilmette; A large tree was blown down on a car in Streamwood; Several tree limbs were blown down in Morton Grove; A tree was blown down near the intersection of Golf and Harms Road near Golf and eastbound Higgins Road was closed between Plum Grove Road and National Parkway due to downed power lines near Schaumburg. In Chicago, a large tree fell onto multiple cars in Uptown and another large tree fell onto a car on Argyle Street near Jefferson Park. In Lake County, trees were uprooted in Libertyville, Fox Lake and Highland Park.

Mainly freezing rain fell across east central Illinois during the morning of January 1st producing a widespread area of one quarter inch or more of ice accumulation south of Interstate 80. Light freezing rain fell across much of northern Illinois during the late morning into the early afternoon, producing a light glaze of ice with accumulations up to one tenth of an inch. There was a brief lull in the precipitation in the early to mid afternoon and then a band of snow moved across the area, producing snowfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches. A wintry mix continued into the early evening across parts of east central Illinois.||Several trees and power lines were brought down by the ice in Ford and Livingston counties with power outages reported. At least a quarter inch of ice was reported 3 miles north of Crescent City and 7 miles north of Watseka, both in Iroquois County. Ice was measured at 0.37 inches 2 miles north of Carbon Hill in Grundy County and measured at 0.28 inches 3 miles west of Irwin in Kankakee County.

A powerful cold front swept across northern Illinois during the evening and early overnight hours of January 26th into the 27th. While only 2 to 4 inches of snow fell across the area, winds gusting up to 58 mph at times behind the front lead to temporary blizzard-like conditions that caused severe impacts to area roadways. Boone County Sheriff reported all county roads drifted over with numerous vehicles drifted over and stranded. State Route 173 remained closed even during the day on the 27th due to continued blowing and drifting. Five to six foot drifts were reported and road crews were unable to keep up with drifting. Illinois State Police in District 16 serving Winnebago and Boone counties reported numerous vehicles stranded. In Kankakee and Iroquois counties, I-57 was snow covered, and over 80 vehicles were reportedly stuck in ditches or medians. Illinois State Police in District 5 serving Kendall, Grundy, and Will counties reported over 100 cars stuck and described I-57 as a wasteland. State Routes 45 and 52 among others were drifted over. Kane County EOC reported that especially areas west of Route 47 had lots of problems with numerous roads impassable. DeKalb County EOC received around 290 reports of stranded vehicles. There were also 7 injuries and a fatality due to accidents. They also noted that white-out conditions lasted about two hours. Illinois State Police in District 1 serving Ogle and Lee counties reported white-out conditions that prevented plows from getting out onto the roads. Two semis wrecked on I-80 and numerous cars were stranded. La Salle County Sheriff reported that State Route 251 was closed between Peru and Mendota. Livingston County Sheriff reported a semi jack-knifed on I-55 and several vehicles had slid into ditches. Some of the strongest measured wind gusts included: Sugar Grove Airport (54 mph at 811 PM CST); Rockford Airport (52 mph at 716 PM CST); Peru Airport (52 mph at 735 PM CST); and Pontiac Airport (51 mph at 915 PM CST).

Very strong winds developed across northern Illinois during the late morning of April 26th and continued into the early evening hours. Wind gusts between 45 mph and 55 mph continued for most of the afternoon. Tree limbs and power lines were blown down in many areas.

A winter storm moved across northern Illinois during the afternoon and evening hours of December 23rd. A mixture of sleet, snow and freezing rain changed to all freezing rain by evening with many locations receiving around a quarter inch of ice accumulation on trees, power lines and other elevated surfaces. Some areas in north central Illinois received as much as one half inch of ice acumulation. Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines fell down due to the weight of the ice. While some ice accumulation was reported on less traveled and untreated roads, most roadways remained wet even with temperatures near or slightly below freezing. The precipitation diminished during the morning hours of December 24th.

Strong winds persisted from the late morning into the afternoon of May 24th. Wind gusts were between 40 and 50 mph. A 70 foot tall tree was blown down and fell onto a truck in West Chicago. Power lines were blown down along the McHenry/Kane County line just south of Huntley. A utility pole was blown down with a blown transformer in Bensenville. A two and a half foot diameter tree was blown down with half the tree falling on a house in Wheaton. Power lines were blown down on the west side of Elgin. Trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down in Peru. A tree was blown down, which fell onto a utility pole knocking it and power lines down in Rockford. A tree fell onto five parked cars, causing damage to roofs and windows in Batavia. A 16 sided, 122 year old barn near Elgin, collapsed due to strong winds. The barn had been undergoing a multi-year renovation project to preserve it.

Thunderstorms developed over northwest Illinois during the late afternoon hours of July 31st and moved southeast across parts of northern Illinois during the evening hours. The largest hail reported was 1.5 inches in diameter in Leaf River in Ogle county. Power lines were blown down in Roscoe. Large tree limbs were blown down in DeKalb. Trees and power lines were blown down in Sugar Grove in Kane county. Trees and power lines were blown down across many parts of northern Kendall county where a wind gust to 60 mph was reported in Oswego. Trees were blown down blocking roads in Plainfield in Will county where a wind gust to 70 mph was reported. Minor flooding was also reported across parts of Rockford where 1 to 2 inches of rain fell.

Thunderstorms brought damaging winds to portions of north central and northeast Illinois during the evening of July 7th. In Lee county 60 mph winds were reported at I-39 and U.S. 30 and trees were blown down southeast of the I-88/I-39 interchange. In DeKalb county, trees were reported down in DeKalb, Sycamore, and Cortland. A tree fell onto two cars in Waterman in DeKalb county, completely destroying both cars. In LaSalle county, trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down in Leland, Earlville, Lostant, and Streator. Five miles southeast of Ransom, a 60 mph wind gust was reported. An 85 foot tall tree was blown down on a house in Wedron. Trees were damaged in Plano in Kendall county, at Forest and High Streets in Aurora in Kane county and in Channahon near the Grundy/Will county line. The hardest hit area was Morris in Grundy county. Trees, tree limbs and power lines came down knocking out power, damaging homes, businesses and vehicles. Signs were also blown down. Trees were damaged in Kankakee. Police reported 60 to 70 mph winds in Iroquois County and a construction trailer was destroyed near Watseka.

Severe Thunderstorms moved across northern Illinois during the evening of August 21st. Trees and power lines were blown down in Durand in Winnebago county and in Caledonia in Boone county. In Waukegan in Lake county, three large trees were blown down which knocked down three utility poles.

A line of severe thunderstorms moved across northern Illinois during the evening hours of June 3rd. The thunderstorms blew down trees and power lines across much of Lee county. A two foot diameter tree was blown down in De Kalb in Dekalb county and trees were blown down in Aurora in Kane county. On the west side of De Kalb in Dekalb county, several streets had minor flooding due to heavy rainfall.

A line of severe thunderstorms developed in northcentral Illinois during the mid afternoon hours and moved northeast into far northeast Illinois by late afternoon. Widespread downed trees and power lines were reported in the communities of Aurora, Big Rock, Douglas Sims, Geneva, Montgomery and St. Charles. During the peak of the storm nearly 204 thousand electrical customers had disrupted power in Aurora and the surrounding area.