Editor’s note: Morrison, IL, residents shared these photographs of storm damage on Facebook.
“Whole Gale”-force winds ravished Morrison, IL, the afternoon of Monday, August 25, 2014. Beginning around 2:00 p.m., winds that were measured at 55 MPH in Fulton, IL, and estimated here to be at 60 MPH, tore down the town’s stately trees and electrical power lines. The horizontal rain amounted to 1.5 inches, doing its own damage and scattering plant debris.
Kevin Phelps of KWQC-TV6 stated on Tuesday, August 26, that this storm was “like the rainstorms we get on the Gulf [of Mexico.] It’s so humid and [full of] moisture. It’s got no place to go.”
Perhaps the most damaging effect was to the home of Veronica Kruse, 514 Anthony Court. A tree at the west side of a string of townhouses sliced through her roof.
It was fortunate that schools had dismissed at 1:05, due to the extreme heat. Most students likely were home safely before the storm struck. Imagine trying to calm little ones, in Pre-School through grade two, like those attending Northside School, 520 N. Genesee Street, seen below.
The first photo was taken from the northwest corner of High and Genesee Streets. The second faces south along Genesee.
City of Morrison Public Works Department employees, Morrison Police officers and firemen, and Whiteside County Sheriff’s Deputies went into action. They secured areas of downed power lines. The Union Pacific Railroad was shut down for 2.5 hours due to trees on the tracks. The City will cut down small trees, stated Director of Public Services Gary Treseriter. He stated ComEd anticipated having full power restored by the end of Tuesday. “ComEd has four or five crews working. It’s a war zone out there,” he added, regarding the cleaning of limbs around the City.
Bramm Tree Service, 6861 Fulton Road, Fulton, IL, and Ryan’s Tree Service, Inc., 23454 Emerson Road, Sterling, IL, attacked fallen limbs and trees with efficiency. If you need help removing storm-damaged trees, call them at 815-772-2550 or 815-626-2322, respectively.
In sharp contrast to the early afternoon, the day calmed, cooled, and cleared. However, darkness overtook the town, as more than 1360 homes were without power. Some would see the lights return at 10:08 p.m. Some areas remained without power Tuesday, August 26.
Between those times, a decision had to be made regarding classes on Tuesday. About 9:00 p.m., Morrison Unit School District #6 cancelled school, but the bus to the Whiteside Area Career Center in Sterling, IL, would carry students at the regular time.
Downed power lines draped across the 500 block of Portland Avenue (IL Route 78), left; Winfield Street; a sidewalk on Lincolnway.
It will be some time before citizen’s and public property returns to normal. The summer storm of August 25 will remain a topic of lively conversation.
