Power Outage in Peoria, IL

Several tree branches and power lines were blown down.

Power lines were blown down near the intersection of West Lake Avenue and North University Street.

Numerous observers measured between 0.30 and 0.40 ice across Peoria County. The heavy ice accumulation snapped many tree branches, caused scattered power outages, and created slick and hazardous travel conditions.

A tree was blown onto power lines on Fairview Drive.

A tree was blown onto powerlines southwest of Bartonville.

A tree was blown into power lines.

Multiple large tree limbs and power lines were blown down. Some streets were blocked by fallen trees.

A tree was blown onto power lines.

A large tree and power lines were blown down on High Street.

A power line was blown down.

A few large trees were blown down in West Peoria, while a power line was blown down in Peoria Heights.

A power line was blown down.

A power line was blown down at the 9800 block of Brimfield-Jubilee Road.

Westerly winds increased to around 40mph with gusts of 50-60mph. A few large tree limbs and power lines were blown down.

A power pole was blown down at the intersection of Pioneer Parkway and Knoxville Avenue.

Two trees were blown down, and the power was knocked out in Bellevue.

Power lines were blown down in Laura.

Numerous weather observers reported 5 to 8 inches of snow across the northwest half of Peoria County...with 2 to 5 inches southeastward to the Illinois River. 6.0 inches was observed in Chillicothe, while Peoria picked up 5.0 inches. Winds gusting 35-40mph created whiteout conditions at times. Numerous power outages occurred and several motorists were stranded on roads across the western part of the county, including I-74.

Numerous large trees and power lines were blown down.

Numerous tree limbs and power lines were blown down in Peoria Heights.

Several power poles were blown down along Krause Road between Cloverdale and Spillman Roads.

Several trees and power lines were blown down.

Weather observers across Peoria County reported ice accumulations of around 0.25. This amount of ice combined with winds gusting as high as 45 to 55 mph caused extensive damage to trees, power poles, and power lines. Several homes were damaged by falling trees and tree branches. About 75,000 people lost power for up to 3 days after the storm. Numerous businesses were closed in Peoria due to power outages.

A 2-foot diameter tree was blown down in Bartonville. Power outages were reported.

Tree limbs were blown onto power lines at Route 40 and US 150 and at Route 40 and Glenn Avenue in Peoria.

Several trees up to two feet in diameter were blown into power lines one half mile north of US 150 on Knoxville Avenue.

Twenty train cars were blown off the tracks and between 4 and 6 power poles were knocked down west of Laura.

A tornado touched down in far eastern Peoria County about 4 miles ENE of Mapleton at 10:52 AM CST. The tornado uprooted dozens of trees and snapped several power poles before crossing the Illinois River into Tazewell County at 10:53 AM CST.

Several power lines were blown down.

Power lines were blown down, power poles were snapped, there was extensive damage to trees, and some house roof damage was reported due to falling trees in the Lake Camelot subdivision.

Numerous trees were damaged and power lines were blown down in the city of Peoria.

Several trees were toppled, one of which fell onto power lines and caused a power outage in a subdivision near the Greater Peoria Airport.

Several trees and powerlines were blown down west of Peoria in the Jones Hollow area.

Numerous tree limbs were blown onto powerlines throughout the city of Peoria.

Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across the city of Peoria.

Numerous tree limbs and power lines were blown down near the Peoria Airport. Siding and shingles were stripped off several houses east of the airport.

A 14-inch tree was snapped at the junction of US-150 and IL-6. Numerous other trees were blown down around the city of Peoria. In addition, multiple power outages were reported.

Numerous power lines were knocked down and a transformer was blown in Peoria.

Several trees and power lines were blown down.

A six inch diameter tree was blown down onto power lines.

Numerous trees and power lines blown down. A billboard was also blown down.

Numerous trees and power lines blown down.

Numerous trees were blown down throughout town, as well as numerous power lines. No injuries were reported.

Numerous tree limbs, trees and power lines were blown down.

Several trees and large power poles were blown down on the west and south sides of the city. No one was injured by the fallen trees or power poles.

Trees and power lines were blown down 2 miles east of Hanna City, as well as in the city of Peoria. Cars were blown off of State route 8 in Oak Hill. No injuries were reported.

Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down countywide. In Peoria, the top 40 feet of a 120 foot high communications tower was blown down. It caused roof damage to the building it was next to before landing on the road below it.

Several waves of low pressure tracking along a stationary frontal boundary extending from northern Illinois southwestward to Kansas triggered a line of strong to severe thunderstorms across the Illinois River Valley during the evening of May 14th. The storms produced wind gusts in excess of 60 mph, which downed power poles and tree branches across portions of Knox and Peoria counties.

An upper-level disturbance interacting with a nearly stationary frontal boundary draped across northern Illinois triggered several clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms during the afternoon of June 30th. The storms initiated in Wisconsin, then tracked southeastward into east-central Illinois mainly east of the I-55 corridor. Wind gusts as high as 60-70 mph downed numerous trees and power lines, while hail as large as half dollars was reported in a few spots. Meanwhile further west, 40-50 mph winds along a thunderstorm outflow boundary blew a 6-inch diameter tree branch onto a man in Peoria. The man later died from his injuries.

An upper-level disturbance tracking along a nearly stationary frontal boundary triggered a line of strong to severe thunderstorms across west-central Illinois during the late evening of May 28th. The storms tracked eastward and gradually weakened as they approached the I-55 corridor by the early morning of May 29th. Wind gusts of 60-70 mph downed numerous tree branches and power lines as the storms advanced eastward. In addition, hail up to the size of quarters was reported and localized flash flooding occurred across portions of Knox, Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford counties.

Deepening low pressure centered over the Great Lakes brought strong westerly winds to central Illinois from the afternoon of February 12th through the early morning of February 13th. Peak wind gusts reached 40-45mph. Power lines were blown down in the town of Laura in northwest Peoria County and scattered power outages were reported across the county.

Supercell thunderstorms developed in the vicinity of a warm front draped along the I-74 corridor during the afternoon and early evening of May 26th. The hardest hit area was northern Vermilion County...where powerful cells produced a tornado, damaging winds, and extremely large hail. An EF-1 tornado touched down northwest of Alvin, damaging trees, the roof and siding of a house, and a garage. Meanwhile, 80-90mph winds produced nearly $3 million worth of tree and property damage in Rossville. Very large hail up to the size of tennis balls were reported in Rankin. In addition, extreme rainfall rates caused flash flooding in Hoopeston.

A multi-faceted storm system impacted central Illinois from December 26th through 28th...bringing heavy rainfall, significant ice accumulations, and strong winds. As Canadian high pressure moved north of the Great Lakes during the early morning of December 28th, northeasterly winds brought colder air into the region. With temperatures falling into the upper 20s and lower 30s, rain changed to freezing rain along and north of a Canton to Bloomington line. Although warm ground temperatures prevented much freezing on paved surfaces, significant ice accumulations of one tenth to three tenths of an inch were reported on elevated surfaces, including trees. This amount of ice, combined with strong easterly winds gusting to between 40 and 50 mph, brought down many trees and power lines. Due to the very wet soil conditions, numerous large trees were uprooted, damaging homes and taking down power lines and power poles. Widespread power outages were reported in Galesburg, Peoria, Bloomington-Normal, and many smaller communities. Around 240,000 people lost power across Knox, Stark, Marshall, Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, and McLean counties.

A powerful low pressure system tracked from the central Rockies toward the southern Great Lakes on November 17th. As the system approached central Illinois, unseasonably warm and humid air was pulled northward into the area, resulting in high temperatures soaring into the 70s. This very unstable airmass coupled with strong jet stream level winds aloft created numerous strong to severe thunderstorms across the area. Many of the storms became supercells, producing hail as large as 4 inches in diameter and wind gusts exceeding 70 mph.

A powerful low pressure system tracked from the central Rockies toward the southern Great Lakes on November 17th. As the system approached central Illinois, unseasonably warm and humid air was pulled northward into the area, resulting in high temperatures soaring into the 70s. This very unstable airmass coupled with strong jet stream level winds aloft created numerous strong to severe thunderstorms. Many of the storms became supercells, producing damaging long-track tornadoes. A total of 10 tornadoes touched down across central Illinois, including an EF4 tornado that severely impacted the community of Washington in Tazewell County. Three people were killed and 142 others were injured as the storms tracked through the area. Total damage was estimated at 1.06 billion dollars across central Illinois.

A vigorous upper-level disturbance interacting with a cold front triggered strong to severe thunderstorms west of the Mississippi River during the afternoon of May 20th. These storms tracked eastward into central Illinois during the evening, producing wind damage and locally heavy rainfall in excess of 2 inches. The most concentrated area of wind damage occurred across parts of Stark County, where numerous trees and power lines were blown down from the north side of Wyoming to Bradford.

A line of severe thunderstorms produced wind gusts of 60 to 85 mph, large hail, torrential rainfall, and nearly continuous lightning across much of central and southeast Illinois during the early morning of June 18th. The high winds resulted in multiple power outages, downed trees and power lines, and damage to light poles, outbuildings, and several homes.

A powerful storm system produced between one quarter and three quarters of an inch of ice across parts of central Illinois on December 18th. Areas along and north of I-72 were most severely impacted, with widespread tree damage and power outages reported. Increasing west to northwest winds in the wake of the departing storm system resulted in additional downed tree branches and power outages into December 20th. At the height of the storm, over 30,000 customers were reported to be without power across central Illinois. Preliminary damage estimates are approximately 2 million dollars.

Powerful thunderstorms developed across eastern Iowa during the early morning hours of August 5th, then tracked eastward along an outflow boundary into the Illinois River Valley. The storms tapped into a mid-level wind max tracking through the region and were able to produce windespread wind gusts ranging from 60 to 80mph. The hardest hit areas were from Peoria and Fulton counties eastward to McLean County.

During the early morning hours of 7/21/08, thunderstorms quickly began to develop across Iowa in response to a 30 to 35kt low-level jet and an upper-level disturbance tracking eastward out of the Plains. The storms materialized and tracked along a subtle low-level moisture boundary that stretched from central Iowa into central Illinois. As they rolled eastward, they began to pick up momentum and soon began producing widespread damaging winds. The storms headed east-southeast into Knox, Fulton, and Peoria counties, where winds between 60 and 70 mph downed numerous trees and powerlines. Widespread wind damage continued further east in a large swath across Marshall, Woodford, Tazewell, and northern McLean counties where severe winds of 60 to 81 mph were reported. A lightning strike also did damage to a school roof in Bloomington.

A winter storm brought a period of freezing rain to portions of central Illinois on December 1st. The freezing rain broke out during the mid morning hours and tapered off by late afternoon. The freezing rain deposited widespread quarter inch to three tenths of an inch of ice along and north of a line from Rushville to Bloomington. Lesser amounts of ice accumulation occurred south of this line. The storm caused numerous power outages and minor vehicular accidents, but no major damage or injuries.

A large severe thunderstorm bow echo moved across portions of Knox, Stark, Marshall, and Peoria counties during the afternoon hours of the 23rd causing significant damage.||Widespread damage occurred across the city of Galesburg by wind gusts in the 70 to 80 mph range. These wind speeds continued for several miles past Galesburg, to the Wataga and Victoria areas. Within the city of Galesburg, enhanced damage was caused by a fast-moving microburst, which produced estimated wind speeds of around 100 mph.||Within the city of Galesburg, the area of damage was about 8 miles wide. A wind gust of 74 mph was reported at the Galesburg Municipal Airport at 1:09 pm, before the automated weather station failed. Damage began in the city of Galesburg around 1:10 pm, and continued within the city limits for approximately 5 minutes. There were more than 500 trees either damaged or destroyed. Falling trees or large tree limbs resulted in significant damage to dozens of buildings and vehicles. Numerous buildings sustained damage to roofing and chimneys, as well as minor damage to siding and broken windows. About 20 power poles were snapped, and numerous power lines were brought down. At least two semi-trailers were blown over on U.S. Highway 34 west of Galesburg, and on I-74 just east of Galesburg.||An area of enhanced wind damage was found within the city as well. This area was about 1/2 mile wide, and 2 miles long. It began close to the intersection of Knox and Pine Streets, and continued to the northeast, crossing the intersections of Grand Avenue and Oak Street, Farnham and East Main Street, and extending to Illini Drive and the Soangetaha Country Club east of I-74. Significant damage to trees, fences, garages and a business occurred around 1:15 pm. Several homes sustained roof and siding damage, primarily from debris and falling tree limbs.||The storm injured 7 people in Galesburg, with cuts and broken bones||The city of Knoxville, about 4 miles southeast of Galesburg, also sustained widespread wind damage, shortly after 1:15 pm. Wind speeds were estimated to be 60-80 mph. Extensive damage was done to trees and power lines. Roofs and autos were damaged, mainly from falling trees and limbs.||Wataga, 4 miles northeast of Galesburg, was affected by the high winds around 1:20 pm. Winds estimated at 60-80 mph also produced damage to trees, and downed power lines.||The town of Victoria, 15 miles east-northeast of Galesburg, also sustained 60-80 mph wind gusts. The damaging wind struck around 1:25 pm, downing trees and power lines. A man was killed in rural Victoria after a falling tree struck him.||Numerous farm fields sustained damage in northern Knox County, due to the high winds. Corn stalks and soybean plants were flattened as a result.||Additional tree, crop and power line damage occurred across Stark, Marshall and northern Peoria counties.

A strong winter storm lifted into the Midwest from the southern Plains on the 24th, bringing a wintry mix of precipitation to portions of central Illinois. Ice accumulations of one quarter to one inch were common. The heaviest ice accumulations fell across Knox, Stark and Marshall counties where significant tree and power line damage occurred. Elsewhere, the ice was primarily a travel hazard.

A major winter storm moved across the mid Mississippi Valley and into the Ohio Valley on January 5th and 6th. This system brought significant icing to much of central Illinois, with ice accumulations of one quarter to one half inch common. There were numerous reports of downed trees and power lines, as well as numerous traffic accidents. No fatalities or major injuries were reported.

A strong area of low pressure moved from Iowa into Wisconsin during the day on March 5th. This system created gradient winds over Illinois beginning in the mid morning hours. Wind gusts to 58 mph were reported at the Galesburg Municipal Airport and at the Greater Peoria Regional Airport. Also, there were numerous reports of damage across the region and one fatality due to the high winds. In Edgar county as the winds blew through, a large tree limb was blown down on top of a SUV in Paris. The limb caved in the roof of the vehicle and caused the driver to loose consciousness. The vehicle traveled another 597 feet before stopping against a parked car. She had to be extricated from the vehicle while a uninjured juvenile passenger escaped from the back of the vehicle. The woman died from her injuries a week and a half later. As for other reports, several semis were blown over as well as a city bus in Champaign. The bus fell 15 feet off of a bridge and into a creek. Six people sustained minor injuries on the bus, including the bus driver. Numerous reports of trees, tree limbs, power lines, power poles and signs were blown down, some of which caused minor structural damage. No dollar amount damage estimates were available.

As a strong low pressure system across the upper Midwest exited the area, a strong ridge of high pressure moved into Illinois, causing the gradient winds to increase. High winds mainly affected counties north of a Galesburg to Bloomington to Champaign line during the afternoon and early evening hours on the 12th. Widespread damage was reported with numerous power lines and power poles blown down, as well as trees and tree limbs. A semi was blown over on I-39 north of Minonk in Marshall County. No injuries were reported. The roof of a storage building in Bloomington was blown off and into some power lines. A gust to 48 mph was reported in Bloomington.

Near a quarter inch of ice accumulated across the extreme northern part of Mason County around Manito and Sand Ridge State Forest. Around a half inch of ice accumulated across Woodford county with local 1 inch amounts of ice near Eureka. Between a quarter and half inch of ice accumulated across the northern two thirds of Tazewell County. Around a quarter inch of ice accumulated across the northwest quarter of Schuyler county. Between a quarter and half inch of ice accumulated across the northern two thirds of McLean county. Between a quarter and half inch of ice accumulated across the northern two thirds of Fulton County. Between 6 and 9 inches of snow accumulated across Knox, Stark, Marshall and northern Peoria counties along with a quarter to half inch of ice. The southern half of Peoria county had around a half inch of ice along with 1 to 2 inches of snow. There were local three quarter to 1.5 inches of ice across higher terrain (Illinois River blufffs) near Mapleton. Several trees and power lines were downed from ice accumulations across Peoria and surrounding counties lasting from several hours to a couple of days.

An ice storm affected central parts of Illinois, near the Illinois River Valley, from late in the evening on February 17th through the late afternoon hours of February 18th. A quarter to half an inch of ice resulted in numerous reports of downed power lines and tree limbs, extended power outages and traffic accidents. One traffic accident in Woodford county, attributed to an icy road, resulted in one serious injury.