Illinois
Severe storm is forecast in Illinois this weekend
Springfield’s northside heavily impacted by severe storm I Video
Springfield woke up to buildings at the local airport tossed around, and warped fences, along with significant damage to a northside animal shelter.
- A storm is predicted on Saturday, June 13 in Illinois.
- Most of the state is currently expected to be under a level 2 out 5 risk, according to a Severe Weather Outlook.
- The severe storm would be the third one this week in Springfield.
SPRINGFIELD – Another severe storm is forecast for central Illinois.
The storm predicted for Saturday afternoon and into Saturday night is expected to be less severe than the ones Springfield experienced on June 11 and June 10.
Most of the state is set to be under a Slight Risk for severe weather, which is a level 2 out of 5, according to an infographic from the National Weather Service out of Lincoln.
The main expected hazard is damaging wind gusts at 60-75 mph, with higher gusts west of Jacksonville.
Scattered hail over 1 inch in diameter is also expected, in addition to possible isolated tornadoes and localized flash flooding.
Storms this past week
Reached by The State Journal-Register, Matt Barnes, who is a meteorologist with the weather service out of Lincoln, said straight line winds at 60-70 mph caused damage in Springfield on the night of June 11.
The storm came in around 7 p.m.
Quite a few trees and power lines were knocked down, Barnes said.
More than 11,000 people lost electrical power across Springfield, according to a news release from City, Water, Light, and Power. The storms snapped poles, bringing trees and limbs down onto power lines, Amber Sabin wrote in the release. Sabin is the director of customer and media relations for the agency.
“With all available resources, including CWLP crews in the field from Electric Operations Troubleshooters, Construction, Substations, Relay, Traffic, Communications, and other support divisions, progress has been made but more work is to be done until all customers are restored power,” Sabin wrote early on June 12.
Tornado undetermined
The weather service on June 12 is sending a damage survey crew to Springfield and other locations in Sangamon County to assess damage from a severe storm that hit the area on June 10. The crew seeks to determine whether the damage may have been caused by a tornado.
A report from NWS is expected this evening that will be available on the NWS homepage or its social media pages.
Rainfall this week
Springfield recorded 1.95″ of rain on June 11, and 0.88″ of rain on June 10.
Some places in central Illinois have seen a “tremendous” amount of rainfall, and scattered flash-flooding may be a concern with upcoming storm activity, Barnes said.
Tom Ackerman covers breaking news and trending news along with general news for the Springfield State Journal-Register. He can be reached at tackerman@usatodayco.com.