2,000 Central Illinoisans lose power in Friday storms

CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA) — At one point Friday, nearly 2,000 people across Central Illinois were without power because of the severe weather.

It’s something many people in Rossville are used to. They say it comes with summer storms in rural areas.

“If some weather is up here, the power can go at any minute. That’s Rossville,” resident Chris Norman said.

The whole town of Rossville temporarily lost power just before 3 p.m. Friday.

“It lasts a lot longer than you think it should when the weather comes down,” Norman said. “You think it ought to come on? No. Better be ready.”

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Norman and Margaret Trunell both live right downtown and took precautions to be ready for summer storms.

“So, he got a generator for down here because he’s like, ‘I’m not going to be stuck in the dark with nobody here,” Trunell said.

“We’re going to go fire it up and be set,'” Norman added.

Across the street, the local Casey’s at the heart of town also was without power.

“The big thing here in Rossville is right across the street from us, which is Casey’s,” Norman said. “And when that closes down, the town goes dead. Nothing happens. It’s dead.”

Employee Alicia Ron said even when power was restored, they couldn’t immediately reopen.

“We are still kind of closed due to no internet. Our registers are out at the moment,” she said.

Down the road in Potomac, locals experienced high winds that threw branches onto the ground, and birds’ nests flung out of trees.

It was a busy day for generators, Ameren crews, and homeowners everywhere. Outages were also reported in Vermilion, Macon, and Sangamon counties.

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