Thunderstorm Wind in Monroe County, Illinois

Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines across the northern portions of Monroe County. Some of the trees and power lines were down at the intersection of St. Paul Street and Gardner Street in Columbia. Columbia's American Legion Park and YMCA sustained considerable damage at both locations. A couple of homes sustained moderate roof damage due to fallen trees. One person was briefly trapped in a vehicle due to a fallen power line. Also, some of the fallen trees and tree limbs were blocking Illinois Route 3 just southeast of Columbia. Several power poles were blown down near the intersection of Bluff Road and Sand Bank Road. No deaths or injuries were reported.

Earlier in the day on June 30th, an MCS made its way across southern Iowa and northern Missouri into north-central Illinois. As it moved eastward, an outflow boundary moved south and interacted with a surface boundary stretching across central Missouri. There was a strong gradient of surface-based CAPE. Storms developed and followed that gradient and frontal boundary southeast across central Missouri into south central Illinois. The severe storms produced large hail and damaging winds.