MOUNT CARMEL, Ill. — A tornado reportedly touched down in southeastern Illinois, knocking down trees and damaging a high school.
A team from the National Weather Service’s Paducah, Kentucky, office will travel to Mount Carmel on Friday to assess storm damage after the reported tornado touchdown Thursday night, said meteorologist Dan Spaeth.
The weather service said in a statement that law enforcement reported “significant damage” on the south side of Mount Carmel, which has more than 7,000 residents and is the Wabash County seat. No injuries were reported.
The Associated Press left a message Friday for Mount Carmel police seeking additional information on the storm damage.
Spaeth said the survey team will also investigate whether the suspected tornado may have also caused damage reported in Keensburg, a small Wabash County community that’s a few miles southwest of Mount Carmel.
“We’ll get much better detail on the length, exactly where it was, the damage and how intense it may have been,” he said. “Was that continuous all the way through there? That’s what they’ll be trying to figure out.”
Spaeth said the storm may also have crossed the Wabash River into Knox County, Indiana, in an area near the confluence of the Wabash and White rivers.
The storm damage was reported after a wave of severe storms Thursday afternoon produced hail up to the size of baseballs in southeastern Illinois before another round of strong storms swept the area, starting Thursday evening.
