Weather service: Damage from possible tornado reported in Mount Carmel, Illinois

MOUNT CARMEL, Ill. – As of Friday morning, the National Weather Service hasn't been able to confirm if a tornado barreled through the outskirts of Mount Carmel, Illinois late Thursday.

A survey team will visit the town of 7,000 people as part of the agency's investigation.

But one thing's for sure: There's damage, and quite a bit of it, on the south side of the Wabash County town. It happened minutes after a tornado warning was issued for the area, when meteorologists spotted a radar signature for a tornado moving toward Mount Carmel.

Whatever hit a few minutes later at 9:36 p.m. was either a tornado or some sort of other significant, damaging wind event that knocked out power to most of the town and left behind a trail of wreckage.

Michael McWilliams, chief of police for the Mount Carmel Police Department, said the south side of the town saw "significant damage" from the event Thursday night, though he could not confirm if the damage was caused by a tornado or just damaging winds.

McWilliams said several houses had roofs ripped off by the storm or had been damaged by fallen trees. Mobile homes were overturned and roads were littered with tree limbs and other pieces of debris. Power on the south side of Mount Carmel was still out as of 9 a.m. Friday morning, though he said most other areas had been restored by 6 a.m.

He noted that roads were "somewhat" passable, but travel in the area is currently restricted to residents and emergency crews as they deal with downed power lines, tree parts and storm debris.

Somehow, McWilliams said, he hadn't seen any reports of injuries made to either the police department or at Wabash General Hospital.

An initial storm report to the National Weather Service mentioned damage to Mount Carmel High School. McWilliams said that was "inaccurate," and that the school hadn't experienced any structural or notable damage.

Hannah Smith, whose husband passed away just three months ago, lives on North Cherry Street. Much of her home was destroyed Thursday night when a large oak tree fell on her roof.

“I just have no idea what I’m going to do,” Smith said. “This is just too much.”

Smith said the city informed her this morning she would have to leave the home due to the damage. She’s hoping to receive short-term assistance to find a hotel room.

Lisa Peek lives nearby and is helping Phillips clean up the debris. She said the tornado hit hard, and without much warning.

“The whole town went completely dark,” Peek said. “The tornado was an easy F-2 from my vantage point.”

This story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Damage from possible tornado reported in Mount Carmel, Illinois