Power Outage in Palmer, IL

A tornado touched down about 3.2 miles east-southeast of Morrisonville at 5:01 PM CST. It hit a farmstead, destroying 3 barns and severely damaging 4 other out buildings. The tornado was rated EF2 at this location with maximum wind speeds of 112 mph. The tornado continued moving northeastward, hitting several other outbuildings and snapping trees. The tree and outbuilding damage was classified as EF1 damage with wind speeds of 100-110mph. As the tornado continued to the northeast it snapped more large trees and then hit a log home, removing 25-50% of the roof material. It also snapped many other trees on this property and destroyed a couple of small outbuildings, throwing the debris northward into a field. The tornado was rated EF2 at this location with wind speeds of 115mph. The tornado continued northeastward and moved into a wooded area, snapping and uprooting hundreds of trees along its path. It then curved north-northeastward and moved into Hewittville, a small community on the southern edge of Taylorville. Here the tornado destroyed or severely damaged multiple houses. The first house the tornado hit lost most exterior walls and the entire roof, except for the roof over the attached garage, which was on the north side of the house. It also destroyed a second garage on the property and then completely destroyed a mobile home across the street. The tornado was rated EF3 with wind speeds around 150mph at this location. The tornado continued north-northeastward, destroying a barn, pushing an unanchored home off its foundation and completely destroying another mobile home. This mobile home was partially anchored by wood posts set in slots on a concrete foundation over a basement and crawl space. The resident of this home was badly injured and was found unconscious, trapped under debris in the crawl space. The tornado was rated EF3 with wind speeds of 140mph at this location. As the tornado continued, it snapped and uprooted many more trees and took down power lines and power poles. Many more homes were damaged, to a lesser extent than the first few on the south end of town, with some damage to the homes coming from trees or tree branches falling on the homes. As the tornado moved into the northern part of Hewittville, the wind speeds seemed to increase, completely destroying another home and destroying a large, old building that had been part of an old rail-yard. The tornado also damaged other homes and garages in this area. The tornado was rated EF3 with wind speeds of 155mph at this location. As the tornado tracked north-northeastward, it moved into Taylorville, taking down more trees, power lines/poles, and damaging multiple houses. Several homes lost roofs and garages. The tornado continued through Taylorville damaging other homes and several businesses on West Spresser St. and was rated EF2 with wind speeds of 120-125mph at this point. As the tornado crossed Hwy 29 into the northern part of town, it weakened considerably, with the damage becoming less severe and more sporadic. The tornado dissipated 1.8 miles north of Taylorville at 5:25 PM CST. In total, the tornado impacted 506 structures...including major damage to 61 homes and 7 businesses and complete destruction of 28 homes. Total damage was estimated at $118.9 million.

Several trees and power lines were blown down.

A few power lines were blown down.