Power Outage in Bloomington, IL

A power line from a stoplight was blown down.

Approximately 15 power poles were blown down along Old Route 66 from the Veterans Parkway overpass paralleling I-55 until the first railroad crossing. One rail crossing sign was broken as well.

A tornado touched down on the southwest side of LeRoy at 12:28am CDT, knocking a power pole onto a mobile home and a tree onto another mobile home. The tornado tracked southeastward through the southern part of town doing minor tree damage, causing partial roof damage to two duplexes, and tipping over two semis on I-74. It continued southeastward, partially damaging a roof 2.5 miles southeast of LeRoy before dissipating in a field about 3.5 miles southeast of LeRoy at 12:34am CDT.

Numerous observers measured between 0.25 and 0.35 ice across McLean County. The heavy ice accumulation snapped many tree branches, caused scattered power outages, and created slick and hazardous travel conditions.

Several power poles were damaged.

A tree was blown down on Anchor Drive behind HyVee. A large tree branch was blown onto power lines on Chestnut Street causing a power outage.

Westerly winds increased to around 40mph with gusts of 50-60mph. A few large tree limbs and power lines were blown down. In addition, a tree fell onto a car in Bellflower in southeast McLean County.

Weather observers across McLean County reported snowfall amounts of 3 to 4 inches. Winds gusting to between 40 and 50 mph created whiteout conditions from 0800 to 1300 CST. Snow-covered roads and poor visibility due to falling and blowing snow contributed to numerous traffic accidents across the county, especially on I-74. Portions of I-74 and IL-9 were closed at times. In addition, many trees and power lines were blown down, resulting in scattered power outages.

Weather observers across McLean County reported ice accumulations of up to 0.25. This amount of ice combined with winds gusting as high as 35 to 45 mph caused extensive damage to trees, power poles, and power lines. Several homes were damaged by falling trees and tree branches. About 50,000 people lost power for up to 4 days after the storm. Numerous businesses in Bloomington-Normal were closed due to power outages. An elderly Danvers couple died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning from an improperly vented generator in their home.

Several large power poles were blown down along Towanda Barnes Road.

Numerous powerlines were blown down in the city of Bloomington.

Several trees were blown down onto powerlines.

Numerous tree limbs and power lines were blown down from Bloomington to Lexington.

Trees and power lines were blown down all across town.

A few trees were blown down at Miller Park. In addition, several power lines were blown down on the south side of town.

Power lines blown down.

Several trees and power lines were blown down.

A large tree limb was blown down in town, as well as several power lines.

Several large trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down.

Widespread damage was reported countywide. In Stanford, the roof of a business was torn off causing approximately $50,000 in damage. On I-39 northwest of Bloomington, a semi was blown over and at the I-55/I-74 interchange, two semis were blown over. No injuries were reported. At Illinois State University in Normal, windows were shattered in 30 to 40 cars. Also, 6 windows on two dormitories were cracked. At Lake Bloomington, a tree fell onto a police patrol boat, destroying it. In Cooksville, a grain elevator sustained major damage. Two of its grain bins were destroyed and a third one was damaged. Damage to the elevator is estimated around $750,000. Numerous trees, tree limbs, power poles, power lines, and sheds were blown over countywide. Total storm damage is estimated around $1.1 million.

A winter storm moved into northern portions of Central Illinois late on January 3rd and into the 4th. Heavy snow was reported in Knox, Stark and Marshall, while in McLean County significant ice accumulations around a third of an inch were reported. Between 5 and 6 inches of snow was reported in Knox, Stark and Marshall counties with significant blowing and drifting of the snow causing near whiteout conditions in numerous locations. Meanwhile in McLean county, the heavy coating of ice caused power outages in Normal, LeRoy, Downs and Lexington.

A weak tornado touched down in extreme southeastern Woodford County near the intersection of County Road 700N and 2500E. It was on the ground for a mile knocking down some power poles. It then lifted briefly before touching down again 1.8 miles southeast of El Paso. As it travelled to the northeast, it crossed into the extreme northwestern corner of McLean County. At this location, it took the roof off of a barn, damaged two other barn roofs, tipped over a grain auger, as well as, blowing down trees and tree limbs. It hit another farm with only minor tree limb and house guttering damage before lifting and dissipating. No injuries were reported.