Tom Latonis
Breeze-Courier Writer
CHRISTIAN COUNTY — A line of severe thunderstorms raked central Illinois on Thursday afternoon, leaving in its wake downed power lines, trees and numerous branches. No injuries have been reported resulting from the storm.
The air was full of sirens as emergency crew responded to numerous reports of downed power lines in the area. Outages were reported throughout the county and at presstime, less than 50 homes in Christian County remain without power. Across the Ameren Illinois service area, they are reporting a total of almost 4,100 people without power. Shelby Electric Cooperative report just one customer in Locust Township is without power.
The Taylorville Police Department sent out a Facebook post asking motorists stay off the roads due to the downed power lines and flooding. There message was: “Stay home, stay safe, and let (emergency) crews work.”
According to the National Weather Service records, at 3:15 p.m. Thursday, winds were blowing at 49 mph and a gust of 69 mph was registered at the Taylorville Municipal Airport. Over an inch of rain was recorded at the airport during the storm and the total for Thursday was listed at 2.62 inches.
Meanwhile, Pana’s report of precipitation was slightly more than a half-inch in the past 24 hours.
Johns St. in Pana was closed today due to a power line being downed. In the storm’s aftermath, Second St., Illinois Route 16, on the city’s west side, was closed to traffic as several utility poles had been damaged and power lines were sagging.
The Pana Country Club suffered a number of trees toppled during the storm. Damage was so great a char- ity golf outing for the Pana Community Hospital Foundation set for Friday was canceled. It has been rescheduled for Sept. 23, 2021.
