PEORIA, Ill. – It won’t be enough to eliminate the drought status in the area, nor would it wash away the Canadian wildfire smoke, but Mother Nature reminded us weather can change in an instant.
A midday round of severe thunderstorms Thursday resulted in wind gusts at 60 miles per hour or better, and numerous severe thunderstorm warnings.
There have been numerous reports of downed trees and tree branches in parts of the area, as have downed and arcing power lines.
A tree was reportedly down on a house in Bartonville at one point, but that’s unconfirmed.
Ameren still has a sizeable number of customers without power in Illinois, with over 2,300 in this area.
As of 9 am Friday, Peoria-area customers without power was over 1,700. Tazewell County had around 565 without power, and Woodford County had only 22 customers in the dark.
At the height of the storm, more than 167,000 Ameren customers in Illinois lost power.
Some more chances of strong to severe storms are possible over the next couple days.
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There are reports of trees and power lines down and roads flooded.
Traffic has been closed in Peoria at Knoxville and Lake due to a tree in the road. A tree was also reported down at Lincoln and Monroe.
In Peoria Heights, Prospect at Grandview Drive was closed with a tree across the road. Power lines were down there and Ameren Illinois was called to the scene.
In Bartonville, a tree and power lines were down in the 300 block of Garfield. Also, a tree reportedly fell on a house in Bartonville early Thursday afternoon.
In Creve Coeur, a powerline was down and sparking near Club Cabaret.
In East Peoria, a tree fell on a house, and possibly in the road at Bloomington and Schultz.
