Sunday storms damage Cass County, more likely Wednesday

Yahoo

01-04-2025

Cass County saw heavy rain and high winds Sunday amid a tornado watch and three severe thunderstorm warnings. The main hazards, according to the Cass County Emergency Management Agency, were hail and high wind.
'No injuries, no fatalities. That's always the most important thing,' said Rocky Buffum, director of the Cass County Emergency Management Agency.
Multiple properties sustained cosmetic damage, he added, as well as damage to their siding and roofing. A few pole barns lost portions of their roofs.
Although Cass County went into a tornado watch, and someone reported seeing a tornado in a field in the southern part of the county, nearby spotters who were dispatched to the area did not see one.
Additionally, the Cass County EMA wrote in a Facebook post, post storm analysis of the area didn't show any damage to the field, powerlines or trees in the area.
'I know a lot of people, they don't give a severe thunderstorm warning the same level of alarm as they might a tornado warning. But a severe thunderstorm warning, it is still a significant event,' Buffum said. 'The storm does still have a lot of power, and as we saw yesterday, a severe thunderstorm is very capable of causing widespread issues without any kind of tornado being involved in it.'
A significant number of trees and power lines down were reported across the county during the storm, the local agency noted. The number of calls it received exceeded public safety resources to provide a timely response to each hazard, which led to the issuance of a travel advisory.
Assessment and review was delayed by a hazardous materials situation and two burn complaints EMA also responded to.
'Everything that we found so far is consistent with straight line wind damage,' Buffum said.
According to a post by the National Weather Service, it's fairly common for people to mistake straight line wind damage for tornado damage.
The main difference, the post explained, is that wind flows into a tornado but out of thunderstorms. With straight line winds, the damage starts with a downdraft from the middle and upper levels of a thunderstorm, which begins to roll like a wave and compress as it reaches the ground.
At times, the post noted, straight line winds can be stronger than tornado winds.
Several locations also reported pea-sized hail and at least one reported quarter-sized hail.
The Cass County Highway Department listed 26 sites Monday afternoon where county employees went out to clear roads.
'We had people out for most of the night,' said Highway Superintendent Jeff Smith. He noted Highway Department employees started clearing roads at the outset of the storm and worked until about 3 a.m.
They continued work Monday morning, he added, mostly cleaning up brush that wasn't restricting access to the roads.
Buffum said the community has been doing a 'great job' sending emails to the Cass County EMA and commenting on the agency's Facebook page to report damage.
'That helps us with our damage assessment,' he said, adding it helped the local agency and the National Weather Service determine damage was from straight line winds instead of a tornado.
More storms likely Wednesday
According to the National Weather Service, similar storms could affect Cass County on Wednesday.
A weather outlook posted to the NWS website Monday afternoon states 'moderate to high confidence exists in a line of strong to severe thunderstorms Wednesday afternoon and evening.'
The outlook also notes all severe weather hazards are possible for the Wednesday storm, with strong, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes posing the greatest concerns. However, the agency is still uncertain what the peak potential intensity of the storms could be.
'At this point, it's hard to put any details per se into stone,' said Chris Roller, a representative with the NWS' Northern Indiana office.
Locally heavy rain could lead to some ponding on roadways, tornadoes haven't been ruled out and hail is a possibility, he added.
Roller said residents can prepare for the upcoming storms by making sure they have enough batteries to power radios and flashlights. Residents should also have a plan in case power goes out and review their safety plans.
Cass County residents can monitor weather updates on the Cass County Emergency Management Agency's Facebook page. As the storm gets closer, Buffum said, the agency will also likely release information via local radio stations.
Prior to the Sunday storms, Buffum noted, the local agency monitored how the storm affected communities between Illinois and Cass County as the storms rolled in. He said keeping an eye on how the storms affected other communities helped the local agency know what to expect.