Illinois
South Suburban Humane Society volunteers in Matteson, Illinois, gather for MLK Day of Service
Many were off from school and work in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but the day is a national Day of Service, with people all over Chicago and the suburbs spending the day giving back.
In south suburban Matteson, volunteers carved out time for a good cause for MLK Day.
“It’s a real good feeling to volunteer,” said Diane Klein.
It’s only taken Klein minutes to become a master blanket-maker with no sewing machine needed — just fast fingers and teamwork.
Dorelle Ackerman has a knack for it, too.
“What better way to honor Dr. King than with a Day of Service?” she said.
Their service benefits the South Suburban Humane Society in Matteson, Illinois. The shelter is home to about 60 dogs on any given day, all of which need blankets.
“It helps immensely for us, the volunteers, and also the dogs in our care, being able to stay just like a little bit warmer, especially with this weather, is incredible,” said Director of Impact Mika Carten.
A visit from 11-year-old Sheila keeps volunteers motivated, and it reminds Klein why she’s there. She lost her own dogs, two beagles, a year and a half ago.
“I’m still mourning the ones we did have, so I have a void. This is one way of filling that void. helping,” she said.
Helping to keep dogs nice and cozy, but the work warms hearts, too.
“You give a little of your own time, and you get it back some way,” Klein said.
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Multiple rounds of severe storms impacted central Illinois on Wednesday bringing damaging wind gusts and very heavy rain. Our area was sparred from the worst of the tornadoes, but areas south of I-72 were not so fortunate with damage to homes and injuries reported.
An outflow boundary from our morning storms struggled to get any further north than highway 136, which was about 30 miles south of what was anticipated early this morning. This kept the risk of strong tornadoes just south of our local region, though we still had plenty of rain and instances of large hail and gusty winds roll through central Illinois.
The worst of the wind came with the storms in the morning. As the severe storms moved through the area they produced measured gust of 60-70 mph with localized gusts estimated to be around 80 mph. The winds resulted in tree, powerline, and structural damage from Knox through McLean County.
Storm Reports
Galesburg – Tree and power line damage
Williamsfield – Roof partially torn off building
Princeville – Tree damage
Dunlap – 60 mph wind gust
Bellevue – 60 mph wind gust
Germantown Hills – Trees down
Roanoke – 60 mph wind gust
El Paso – Power poles snapped
El Paso – Multiple semis and campers rolled on I-39
Gidley – 70 mph wind gust
Chenoa – Semi rolled on I-55
Dunlap – 1.0″ size hail
Metamora – 1.0″ size hail
Armington – 1.0″ size hail
Rain reports
West Peoria – 4.37″
Lexington – 4.00″
West Peoria – 3.98″
Washington – 3.97″
East Peoria – 3.47″
Dunlap – 3.40″
Goodfield – 2.47″
Towanda – 2.43″
Peoria (PIA) – 2.24″
Lewistown – 2.20″
Galesburg – 1.84″
Chillicothe – 1.52″
Pontiac – 1.27″
Historic tree dating back to Abraham Lincoln damaged in Springfield
It may be the last living tree standing when Abraham Lincoln and his family lived in the Springfield neighborhood from 1844 to 1861.
More than 30,000 Illinois residents reported power outages Wednesday morning amid severe storms and destructive winds.
The National Weather Service forecast two rounds of severe weather throughout the day, issuing a tornado watch early Wednesday morning across central Illinois.
Where were power outages reported in Illinois?
More than 35,000 of the more than 5.8 million customers tracked on PowerOutage.com reported outages Wednesday, as of noon.
The majority of these outages were concentrated in west-central Illinois in Warren, Henderson and Woodford counties.
More than 93% of the customers tracked in Henderson County and nearly 60% of those in Warren County were impacted by outages.
Less widespread outages were also reported in DeKalb, Mercer, Knox, Menard, Jefferson and Gallatin counties.
Electric service company Amaren was by far the most impacted utility provider, followed Commonwealth Edison Company and Corn Belt Energy Corporation.
Illinois power outage map
Report power outages in Illinois
Illinois residents can report power outages in their area at PowerOutage.com.
Illinois power outage tracker
To track where power outages have been reported and where they have been restored, follow the USA Today power outage tracker.
Chicago weather radar
Central Illinois weather radar
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