Severe storms tore through central Illinois, ripping off roofs, destroying a mobile home and knocking down trees.

The storms hit just before noon Sunday leaving a path of damage across the county. Firefighters spotted a tornado on the ground near Loami, but the capitol city was also hit hard.

Some people were unable to get back home and the Red Cross was called out to help find a place for the people to stay.

The Old Towne Apartment Complex on Bruns Lane was one area which was hit hardest, with one building having part of its roof ripped off.

Neighbors speculated a tornado caused the damage; the National Weather Service is trying to rule out causes like high winds.

 “Within a matter of seconds it went from rain to black to hail, and I started feeling the wind and the suction,” Joanne Lombard, a victim in the storm said. “The tree was coming so I grabbed my dog and ran to the bathroom.”

City crews were called out almost immediately to start cleaning up trees and other debris. No one was hurt when the stormed rolled through Springfield. The mayor is asking sight seers to stay away from hard hit areas. People in need of help can call the Red Cross Hotline at 787-7602.

Loami Damage
   
In Sangamon County a man was taken to the hospital after the barn he was in collapsed on top of him while he was trying to get horses out of the barn while the storm rolled through when a tornado hit. It happened on his farm just north of Loami. The Sangamon Sheriff says his injuries are not serious.

Also on Loami-Bates Road, firefighters say an SUV flipped over because of the high winds. However, the driver walked away.

Springfield Damage

The National Weather Service says the high winds damaged part of the Archer Grain Elevator just west of Springfield. It caused a gas leak which was quickly controlled.

In Logan and Christian Counties, multiple trees have fallen from the storm according to multiple reports. In addition, the industrial air conditioning unit at the Vermilion County Courthouse Annex was blown off the building.

In Springfield, many roads have been closed after strong winds battered parts of the city. Groton Drive, Camp Lincoln Road, Old Jacksonville, Meadowbrook, and the 1500 block Lincoln are off limits. Some traffic signals also aren’t working.

Power Outage

At 5:00 p.m. Sunday, nearly 15,000 people were without power across Illinois. Most of the outages were in Champaign County. The entire University of Illinois campus was out of power. in the early evening, 9,120 people did not have power in Champaign county. Sangamon County had over 700 without power. Over 200 outages were reported in Macon County and in Vermillion, over 100 people were in the dark.

As of 8:00 p.m. Sunday, the number fell to 4,400 across the state without power and 1,500 in Champaign.

The wind knocked down several power lines in and around Champaign Sunday. Around Route 130 and Old Church Road, about four lines were damaged by the wind and crews closed the road until they could be repaired.