Thunderstorm Wind in McLean County, Illinois

Downburst winds of 70 to 80 mph produced a wide swath of damage from Danvers southeastward into the southwest side of Bloomington. One of the hardest hit locations along this path was the Apollo Acres subdivision just north of Illinois Route 9, where 159 homes sustained damage. 139 of those homes had awnings or shingles damaged, while 19 suffered minor roof and window damage, and 1 home had one-third of its roof torn off. Total damage in Apollo Acres was around $1 million. Other significant damage occurred along the path of the storm, including numerous downed trees, trailers blown over, and several large metal buildings with doors blown in and roofs torn off. Total damage to 30 businesses along the path was estimated at around $2.5 million. One minor injury was reported, as a car was hit by a wind-blown trailer.

Widespread damage was reported countywide. In Stanford, the roof of a business was torn off causing approximately $50,000 in damage. On I-39 northwest of Bloomington, a semi was blown over and at the I-55/I-74 interchange, two semis were blown over. No injuries were reported. At Illinois State University in Normal, windows were shattered in 30 to 40 cars. Also, 6 windows on two dormitories were cracked. At Lake Bloomington, a tree fell onto a police patrol boat, destroying it. In Cooksville, a grain elevator sustained major damage. Two of its grain bins were destroyed and a third one was damaged. Damage to the elevator is estimated around $750,000. Numerous trees, tree limbs, power poles, power lines, and sheds were blown over countywide. Total storm damage is estimated around $1.1 million.

In Mclean County as the storms moved through, there were more intense areas of damage due to microbursts (100 to 110 mph) in the Mclean and Leroy areas. In the town of Mclean, a large billboard was bent over and a business on the east side of town lost a large portion of its roof, as well as, several large motorized doors. Further east in Leroy, hundreds of trees were blown down, some of which fell onto homes causing moderate damage. In Bloomington, a home was destroyed by fire due to a freak accident. Large tree limbs were blown down onto the home's gas meter, knocking it off the wall. Live downed power lines helped to spark the fire. No injuries were reported and damage in Mclean County was estimated around $1.1 million.