Storms cause damage, power outages in Springfield area

Officials say thunderstorms caused damage and led to hundreds of power outages early Monday morning in the Springfield area.

Doug Cramer, senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said several line segments of thunderstorms came through the Springfield area at about 1 a.m.

Cramer said the storms caused "quite a bit of damage," but he declined to comment on specifics until the weather service's survey teams complete their initial assessment.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Mike Albano said survey teams are still assessing the damage, so there's no confirmation yet that a tornado touched down in Springfield. Two small tornadoes touched down in Christian County Monday.

Albano said meteorologists believe an EF1 tornado may have crossed Wilson's Creek Battlefield; however, they're still not sure.

For now, Albano said straight-line winds are responsible for much of the damage.

Just before 9 a.m. Monday, City Utilities spokesperson Joel Alexander said about 2,300 customers were still without power. That was down from almost 10,000 without power right as the storm moved through the area.

The utility company is not providing estimates for when power will be restored, but Alexander said damage in south Springfield would likely take the most time to repair. 

"Besides issues with neighborhood areas, three high-voltage transmission lines were damaged including one near the Campbell and Plainview area," he said. "CU and Liberty are working to repair the lines in that area and it’s expected that this may be the most difficult repair area."

As of noon, approximately 1,900 customers were still without electric service following the early morning storms, Alexander said via email. Crews continue working to restore power to all customers who can accept service.

"At this time the largest number of outages are in the central east portion of Springfield," Alexander stated.

In a follow-up email sent Monday afternoon, Alexander said approximately 1,500 customers remained without power as of 3:45 p.m. Additional contract crews have arrived to assist in restoration work.

No major injuries have been reported for the area, Albano said.

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