Severe weather battered the WGEL listening area Monday night.
Thunderstorms rolled through Montgomery, Bond, Clinton, and Fayette Counties between 8:00 and 9:30 p.m., leaving many reports of damage in their wake.
The Greenville Airport reports wind gusts of 68.4 miles per hour during the storms.
Three recent female graduates of Greenville High School escaped injury Monday night when a strong wind from a thunderstorm caused a large tree to fall across Dewey Street, just south of Jaycee Park, and hit a car.
In addition to the driver, there was a passenger in the front seat and one in the back seat.
When city crews arrived on the scene, the car was barely visible under the top of the tree. A tree limb had broken out the back window. The car was towed from the site.
The Greenville airport sustained damage during the storms. A spokesperson told WGEL trees were damaged, the airport’s flagpole was bent, their sign was knocked down, the building sustained damage, and an airplane was blown across the parking area and struck a pole. A dumpster was blown across the lot and a power generator was also blown about 20 feet across the airport parking lot.
We fielded countless reports of trees and limbs down throughout the affected areas, including several that blocked roadways and some that damaged vehicles. Numerous TV antennas were knocked down.
The Richard and Carol Young home was damaged in Monday night’s storm when a tree fell on the residence, located on the southwest corner of Winter Avenue and Third Street in Greenville.
Richard Young said there was damage to the roof and guttering on the two-story brick home, which is over 100 years old, and part of a brick chimney was damaged.
The Young’s were not injured as they went to the basement when the storm arrived.
Strong wind destroyed a machine shed on the Hal Langham farm, along Airport Avenue, south of Greenville. It was reported Monday night that pieces of the shed came to rest on the road and had to be removed.
Bill Grider, Superintendent of Public Works for the City of Greenville, said several of his workers were kept busy Monday night and Tuesday, due to storm damage.
He said many times the work is slowed down due to power lines being down.
Some power lines and poles, initially reported as fires, turned out to be power lines arcing due to high winds.
Ameren reported hundreds of customers in Bond, Clinton, and Montgomery Counties without power during the storms.
