The National Weather Service has placed the listening area at an enhanced risk for severe weather on Tuesday.
Northwestern Illinois is slated to receive the greatest risk. Destructive straight-line winds, large hail and tornadoes are all concerns in this next round, which could be just as strong as the first round that hit West Central Illinois on Friday evening.
Two EF-2 tornadoes struck Sangamon County on Friday evening. Tornadoes caused severe damage to Sherman and Riverton, but no one was injured. Sangamon County was one of 5 counties declared a disaster area by Governor J.B. Pritzker on Saturday allowing for swift emergency resources to be mobilized. In remarks outside the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere on Saturday, Pritzker said he was also seeking federal emergency relief for the state. The theater collapsed during the storms on Friday evening where a heavy metal show was in progress, killing one person and seriously injuring 5 others.
Power to most of Sherman with the exception of a few neighborhoods was restored around 4AM this morning, according to Menard Electric Cooperative. Full restoration is expected to take a few more days.
The National Weather Service says that the tornado spotted in Morgan County was an EF-unknown due to its brief touch down 3 miles east of Chapin around 5:25PM Friday. The same system also received spotter-confirmed north of the Jacksonville Airport and near Literberry all within a matter of a half hour. The same system also dropped baseball-sized hail near Meredosia.
Minor hail and wind damage was reported in Brown County near Buckhorn and Versailles. Rotation and minor hail was also reported in Greene County on Friday.
Flood warnings along the Illinois River at Beardstown and Havana remain in effect until further notice. Both locations are at minor flood stage.
Warm temperatures today and Tuesday along with a strong southerly jet stream are said to fuel the next round due to hit in the afternoon Tuesday. Stay tuned to AM1180 WLDS and 107.1FM WEAI for all of your up-to-date weather information.