Thursday Evening Storms Bring Flooding, Damage

Yet another round of showers and thunderstorms visited the area Thursday evening, dumping 2 inches of rain in Effingham in a very short period of time. As the system moved into Effingham, wind gusts were in excess of 50mph. But it wasn't the wind that caused the damage seen below to the overhead canopy at Effingham's Moto Mart, it was the wieght of the water in the hollow top, combined with the wind that toppled the structure. There were no injuries from the collapse.

Early Friday morning, a crane was in place and crews were working to cut the structure up and remove it. We spoke with an employee of the store at 7:30 Friday morning, who told us they hoped to be open within 3-4 hours. However, another round of thunderstorms began at about 8am, halting their work. The store was still hopeful they would be open at some point Friday.

Flooding was also a major issue throughout the area Thursday night, with many roads seeing significant flash flooding. The photo below is from the Fayette Avenue underpass, where police were allowing large trucks to pass one at a time.

There were also reports that Route 40 had several impassable areas between Effingham and Montrose. Many city streets were flooded as well, like this photo we took at the corner of South Walnut Street between Martin's IGA Plus and Martin's Midtown Fuels.

Showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue Friday, with the area under a Flash Flood Watch until 10pm. Details are in our weather section, located here.