National Weather Service confirms five tornadoes in three-county area Thursday

The National Weather Service in Lincoln confirmed that five tornadoes, including one packing estimated winds of 120 mph were part of system Thursday that caused widespread damage in Sangamon, Logan and Christian counties, and knocked out power to 40,000 City Water, Light & Power customers at its height.

The brief but intense storm damaged structures, crops and large trees and snapped power lines.

Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher declared a local state of emergency that extends through Sunday.

After storm, city declares local state of emergency; curfew to be enacted

As of 2:30 p.m. Saturday, there were some 8,100 customers, or around 12% were without power, CWLP's outage map showed.

Some CWLP customers could remain without power for multiple additional days where damage is associated with smaller lateral lines and trouble in back yards and individual service lines, more than 90 of which have been identified spokeswoman Amber Sabin said.

She estimated some 4,000 customers would get back power later Saturday night, especially in large circuit outages.

"There are over 500 work tickets that have been entered for widespread damage across the entire span of the CWLP electric system," Sabin said.

Ameren Illinois was using crews from seven different states to address outages in Sangamon and some surrounding counties.

“I know the crews for CWLP and Public Works and all other personnel from those working the phones tothose in the field are working near around the clock to do the best they can to serve the citizens of Springfield,” Buscher said. “Addressing damage for the neighborhoods, the work of our first responders and all of the efforts being made to restore power and clear trees and debris from our neighborhoods remain a high priority for the city of Springfield.”

A nine-mile long EF2 tornado was tracked through Curran and Chatham Thursday. The NWS indicated that a personal weather station at the intersection of Curran Road and Mansion Road measured a wind gust of 109 mph.

The track of the tornado began at the intersection of Curran Road and Spaulding Orchard Road, where large sections of a roof structure were removed from a home, according to the NWS.

A tornado that began near the Eaton plant along Lincoln Parkway on the north side of Lincoln downed large electrical poles near exit 133 on Interstate 55. The damage caused travel delays and later prompted a complete shutdown of the interstate in both directions overnight Thursday.

Two tornadoes were confirmed in Christian County and another in Logan County. All were EF1 in scale.

Weather services use the Enhanced Fujita, or EF scale, to rate tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage they cause, including damage to businesses, homes and vegetation.

Tornado sirens were activated in Springfield and Chatham Thursday, authorities confirmed to The State Journal-Register.

No injuries so far have been reported.

Office of Public Works crews and volunteer groups were working to clear debris and pick up fallen branches.

City of Springfield spokeswoman Haley Wilson urged homeowners to collect branches and limbs and place them on curbs. Branches should not be placed on boulevards, manholes, drains or sidewalks.

Wilson said branch pick-up will likely take weeks as damage continues to be assessed.

Reports to Public Works can be made at 217-789-2255 or 217-789-2246.

Work crews in Jacksonville and Morgan County were also dealing extensive damage. There is a brush drop-off site located at the end of N. Church St./Oak St. in Jacksonville.

Red Cross, Central Illinois Foodbank reach out

The American Red Cross has opened an emergency shelter for those affected by storms at the Springfield Branch NAACP, 801 S. 11th St.

Meals, water and Red Cross volunteers are available at the site.

Lunches and water, along with clean-up kits (tarps, gloves, totes, etc.) will be available at Plumbers, Steamfitters & HVACR Local 137, 2880 E. Cook St., at noon Sunday.

There will be a drive-up food distribution at the Central Illinois Foodbank, 1937 E. Cook St. at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Pleasant Plains fireworks, Great Lawn Kite Festival moved to Sunday

Organizers of the Pleasant Plains Community Club Freedom Celebration have moved the event from Saturday to Sunday.

The celebration at Pleasant Plains High School, 500 N. Cartwright St., includes food, carnival games, raffles, face painting and more with a fireworks display at dusk.

Due to prolonged power outage, the Great Lawn Kite Festival at Southwind Park has been moved to Sunday, with extended hours from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The fireworks display will go on at dusk.

Weather-related cancelations

The Springfield Jaycees canceled Saturday's Capital City Celebration, including the fireworks display.

According to a Facebook post, the Chatham Freedom Fest scheduled for Saturday was canceled.

Scheduled performances of "The 1619 Musical: Journey of a People" at the Hoogland Center For the Arts Saturday and Sunday have been postponed.

The GTO Association of America national convention at the Crowne Plaza hotel was canceled due to potential risk to the vehicles stemming from the storms. The group said fallen trees had trapped cars in the parking lot, with power being knocked out in the hotel for some time.

Cooling centers

Here is a list of cooling centers around Springfield. For further information, call the Office of Community Relations at 217-789-2270.

• Municipal Center East, 800 E. Monroe St., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mon.-Fri.

• Municipal Center West, 300 S. Seventh St. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mon.-Fri

• Lincoln Library, 326 S. Seventh St., 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Mon.-Wed.; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thurs.-Sat.

• Office of Community Relations, 1450 Groth St., 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Mon.-Fri.

• St. John’s Breadline, 430 N. Fifth St., 8 to 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Mon.-Fri. (indoor dining); 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Sunday and holidays

• Salvation Army (Main Campus), 1600 Clear Lake Ave., entrance on south side, off of Martin Luther King Drive, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mon.-Fri.

• Salvation Army Overflow Shelter, 221 N. 11th St., Overnight Shelter 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., 7 days a week; Day Center (88 degrees or higher), 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Mon.-Thurs.; Sat.-Sun. hours subject to staff and heat index.

• Washington Street Mission, 408 N. Fourth St., 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 to 4:30 p.m., Mon.-Fri.

• Helping Hands of Springfield, 1023 E. Washington St., 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Mon.-Fri.; 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sat.-Sun.

SNAP benefits reimbursement

SNAP recipients who lost food due to the tornadoes that struck central Illinois Thursday may be eligible for replacement benefits.

A form available at www.dhs.state.il.us needs to be completed and dropped off at or mailed to any IDHS Family Community Resource Center. Forms need to be received at an FCRC by July 9.

Help for seniors

For assistance, call AgeLinc at 217-787-9234 or 1-800-252-2918 (Toll Free) or Senior Services Center of Central Illinois at 217-528-4035 or 217-528-3882.

State Journal-Register reporter Zach Roth contributed to this story. Contact Steven Spearie: (217) 622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Five tornadoes responsible for damage in central Illinois Thursday