It was later than originally expected, but severe storms did make their way through the area.
Originally, we were expecting severe storms to hit in the early afternoon hours. But, that round of storms did not form until just to our east–as Effingham County and areas to their east were under severe storm warnings early in the afternoon. But, the second round of storms did hit the area with a Severe Thunderstorm Warning issues for southwestern Fayette County at 5:15 pm with a storm that was moving fairly slowly at just 30 to 35 miles per hour. About a half hour later, a Tornado Warning was issued for southern Fayette County and remained in effect until about 6:20 pm when the storm finally exited the county–which led to another round of severe storm warnings for Effingham County and areas to their east. Vandalia was out of the most severe part of the storm, but did receive some strong winds, heavy rains for a time and some small hail. As for the southern part of the county, the Tornado Warning was prompted by a severe thunderstorm that was capable of producing a tornado.
As of last night, both Fayette County Sheriff Ronnie Stevens and Fayette County Emergency Management Agency Director Ryan Scott said they had not received any storm damage reports. The National Weather Service in St. Louis was also seeking any possible storm damage reports for our area.
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