Wednesday, Jun. 10, 2009

Tornado causes $1 million damage to 100 buildings

The tornado that touched down Monday west of O'Fallon cut a 10-mile-long path and ended just south of Mascoutah, damaging 100 buildings and causing $1 million damage, St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency estimates.

No injuries were reported.

Of the 100 buildings damaged, 85 are in O'Fallon and Shiloh, and 15 are in Mascoutah, the agency estimates.

The short, intense storm cell that blew through the area about 5:30 p.m. left behind a mess and a lot of scattered debris: Homes destroyed in Mascoutah, shingles torn off Fulton Junior High School in O'Fallon, a barn toppled near Shiloh and trees down all across the county.

Personnel with the National Weather Service surveyed the damage and determined it was caused by a single tornado about a tenth-of-a-mile wide.

The majority of the damage was ranked F0/F1, the least powerful on the Fujita Scale of Tornado Intensity, which measures strength and damage. An F0 is considered a gale tornado, producing 40-72 winds that damage chimneys, trees and signs.

An F1 is a moderate tornado, producing winds up to 112 mph that peel off roofs, overturn mobile homes and push vehicles off roadways.

Norm Wilke's farm on Illinois 161 just east of Belleville, was in its path.

The tornado destroyed Wilke's red barn, ripping off the roof, tearing it up and scattering across the countryside. It bucked the metal walls and pushed them off the foundation. All that remains besides the wooden frame is an open-air overhang on the south side where his Clydesdale likes to hang out.

"I'm sure that's where he was, so we were really lucky that he wasn't hurt," said Norm's son, Steve Wilke.

But it was probably a terrifying ride -- the ceiling fans on the overhang tell that tale. The wind bent the blades on one fan straight up and the blades on the other straight down. The pasture fence is broken in several places. Steve Wilke wonders whether the frightened horse ran through the fence or whether it was damaged by the wind.

"There was a lot of damage," he said Tuesday, as a crew of about 20 people picked up debris. "We lost several 100-year-old pecan trees, and the fence is all torn up. But I think the trees and the barn helped to save the house, because that's the direction that the wind came from."

In a line from Wilke's house heading southeast, there was damage to the Shiloh Township Highway Department, David and Mary Mueller's house and the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses on Illinois 161.

Next door, the Shiloh Township Building suffered severe damage but the equipment inside was unscathed.

"This building was built in three stages, the middle came first and then there was an addition built on each end," Township Supervisor Dave Tiedemann said. "The middle is completely gone. The wind picked it straight up and carried it away."

The debris was scattered across the Muellers' property, which also had windows blown out. The roof at Kingdom Hall was damaged, and water was in the front foyer.

"The way it picked everything up and carried it off, none of the equipment was torn up," Tiedemann said of the township building. "The lights on top of the cabs of the trucks in the building weren't even broken. But the building itself looks like a total loss."

The tornado gained power and became an F2 south of Mascoutah. There, it destroyed the home of pig farmer Kenneth Eidman, 80, and his wife, Shirley, 78. The couple covered their heads with pillows and hid in a closet in a spare bedroom, escaping injury as the house around them was torn away.

A tornado with an F2 designation is considered a significant tornado and can produce up to 157 mph winds. An F2 tornado can tear roofs from homes, demolish mobile homes, uproot large trees and turn flying debris into airborne missiles.

Meteorologists say winds up to 65 mph and hail also hit Perry, Franklin and Williamson counties, uprooting trees, damaging buildings and toppling power lines.

Illinois Emergency Management spokeswoman Patti Thompson said no injuries were reported.

As of 10 p.m. Tuesday, Ameren crews had restored power to all but about 300 customers in O'Fallon and about 200 customers in the Shiloh areas.

O'Fallon reported damage to the Fulton Junior High School and at least two homes were damaged by fallen trees. The city is reminding residents that trees and branches from the storm will only be picked up if they are less than six inches in diameter and tied in bundles no larger than four feet long and 24 inches in diameter. The bundles can weigh no more than 60 pounds or Waste Management personnel will not pick them up.

O'Fallon residents who are experiencing hardship and cannot cut up damaged trees can call City Hall at 624-4500, ext. 3. The city has a few volunteers who are helping people clean up.