After Friday storm, more than 7,600 without power across Lee and Whiteside counties

Long-range forecast says storm cells could develop into severe weather on Tuesday

Downed trees and limbs are seen littering Prairie Repose Cemetery in Amboy Saturday, April 1, 2023 the day after a line of powerful storms roared through the Sauk Valley.

Power was still out to more than 7,600 residences in Lee and Whiteside counties, according to ComEd’s outage map.

It had been close to 20 hours after the second of two storms swept across the Sauk Valley on Friday afternoon and evening.

It was part of a larger storm system that caused one fatality and two dozen injuries in Belvidere and produced multiple tornadoes.

Wind gusts measured 60 to 75 mph in some areas, the National Weather Service said in its preliminary findings.

Among the areas with the most extensive damage to trees was near Amboy, Sublette and West Brooklyn in Lee County and within the vicinity of Baileyville in Ogle County.

The storm caused damage farther afield, hitting near Mendota in La Salle County and in the vicinity of the Wisconsin state line in McHenry County.

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Power outages

As of 11 a.m. Saturday, ComEd reported 648 outages affecting more than 21,000 customers in its service area.

In Lee County, there were 62 outages affecting 7,369 customers. In Whiteside there with 43 outages affecting 1,341 customers. In Ogle there were 33 outages affecting 329 customers. In Carroll, there were seven outages affecting 24 customers. In Bureau, there were 19 outages affecting 179 customers.

Ameren Illinois, which also serves Bureau County, reports 323 customers without power.

By 5 p.m., there were 378 active outages in ComEd’s service area. Lee County had 42 outages, affecting 7,288 customers. Whiteside had 27 outages affecting 384 customers. In Ogle there were 11 outages affecting 195 customers. In Carroll, there were five outages affecting 19 customers. Bureau had 16 outages affecting 176 customers.

Ameren Illinois reported 242 customers in Bureau County without power.

Elsewhere

At the height of the storm, the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office confirmed there was a tornado near Route 64 outside of Shannon that was moving east-northeast.

Hail damage was reported in Whiteside County near Erie and in several locations across Bureau County, the service said.

Sun rays pierce storm clouds in the time between the two storm systems that passed through Lee County on Friday, March 31, 2023.

Storm survey teams

The Quad Cities station of the National Weather Service reported on its twitter account that it sent out three survey teams to assess damage. The first teams were assigned to Iowa City, Keota, Iowa, and Bellevue, Iowa. It said preliminary findings showed a tornado with F-2 strength struck there.

It said it would take several days to complete all the surveys in eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois.

Long-range forecast

The service said it is tracking long-track storm supercells with the potential to develop into strong storms on Tuesday. At this time, the forecast calls for isolated storms during the afternoon with an increased chance of storms in the evening.

This story is being updated as information becomes available.

Shaw Local News Network

Shaw Local News Network

Shaw Local News Network provides local news throughout northern Illinois