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NWS: Straight-Line Winds Likely To Blame For Peoria-Area Storm Damage

Central Illinois Emergency Information
A roof caved in on the Elmwood city square in western Peoria County following Tuesday's storms.

Tuesday's storms packed a serious wallop in parts of the Peoria area.

In Elmwood, winds damaged the post office and Uptown Cafe on the city square. Mail service was temporarily redirected to Yates City on Wednesday.

"We had a lot of reports in the Peoria area of wind damage. A lot of tree branches down, tree limbs down. We did have some structural damage to some sheds and some buildings," said Ben Deubelbeiss , a meteorolgist at the National Weather Service in Lincoln.

Structural damage also was reported in Kickapoo, where a roof blew off a house, and near Mossville, where a sheet metal building was knocked over. Some of the wind gusts Tuesday were 60 to 65 mph in intensity.

"We don't have any firm evidence that a tornado occurred," said Deubelbeiss.  "Just straight-line winds that came through yesterday."

There aren't any reports of injuries.

This isn't the first time Elmwood's downtown area has borne the brunt of severe weather. Scars of a 2010 EF-1 tornado can still be seen in the area.

Deubelbeiss said Tuesday's storms likely mark the end of the unseasonably warm weather streak central Illinois has enjoyed this month. Temperatures are expected to remain in a more seasonable 40s to 50s degree range the rest of the week.

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Tim is the News Director at WCBU Peoria Public Radio.