Saturday Storms Leave Damage

Saturday's storms didn't last long, but they left their calling cards in the form of damage in the area.

Twilla Kessler said her property was damaged by a storm that came through between 7:30pm and 8pm.  Kessler lives about one mile south of Stewardson along Illinois Route 32. 

Kessler said the storm blew down a 40-by-80-foot quonset hut and damaged two grain bins.  She said her son found her patio furniture, a TV antenna and the roof of the quonset hut across the road from her property.  However, her house and garage were not damaged.

Kessler said she's not sure whether it was straight-line winds or a small tornado that visited her property, but said it sure packed a punch.  She said the Vonderheide farm to the west of her home had corn standing in the field broken off.  She likened what remained to volunteer corn when it is seen standing in a beanfield.

The storms also visited Edgewood, with reports of trees down, and Altamont also saw some storm damage.

The storm finally reached Effingham about 9pm and left two-tenths of an inch of rain as well as plenty of thunder and lightning.