A strong storm system swept quickly through Central Illinois in a pair of waves late Wednesday afternoon and evening, uprooting trees and knocking out power in several locations.
A funnel cloud was spotted three miles northeast of Springfield in the first wave of storms at about 4:40 p.m.
Power pole and tree damage was reported in Dawson. Hail up to 1-3/4 inch in diameter was reported in Illiopolis and 2-inch diameter hail was found in Niantic. A shed was destroyed by high winds in Niantic.
The Petersburg Fire Department reported damage to some homes, businesses and vehicles. In downtown Petersburg, a facade panel was blown over on the Hand of Fate Brewing Company and a roof on the Ameren building was damaged.
The second wave caused similar damage on a path following Route 104 through Auburn, Pawnee, Kincaid and Taylorville. Winds damaged Meridian Elementary School in Blue Mound.
City Water, Light and Power in Springfield reports no current outages after restoring power to about 100 customers.
Ameren Illinois reported as many as 45,000 customers were without power Wednesday night with the number cut nearly in half early Thursday morning, including about 1,600 in eastern Sangamon County, 2,100 in Christian County and 11,000 in Macon County.
