Watch CBS News

At least two tornados hit central Illinois during Tuesday's storms

Tornado damages Bryant, Illinois, 30 miles east of Peoria
Tornado damages Bryant, Illinois, 30 miles east of Peoria 00:56

CHICAGO (CBS) -- At least two tornados touched down in Illinois on Tuesday during two rounds of severe storms that blew through the state.

In central Illinois, a tornado hit the town of Bryant on Tuesday, bringing widespread damage to homes and businesses.

Bryant is about 30 miles southwest of Peoria. The National Weather Service confirmed Tuesday night that a tornado hit Bryant earlier in the day.

A number of people found themselves heading for shelter, and later came out from hiding to the storm damage.

"I was in Bryant, babysitting my grandchildren, and they said take cover. We went to the basement. We come out, and got somebody's shed in our yard, and we walked uptown, and we're helping pass out water and stuff. There's a lot of damage here in Bryant," Diana Pasley said.

Donald J. Brown said he heard the twister coming.

"It was just bawlin' and squallin'" he said. "And after it hit, stuff was flying around my kitchen. My windows were knocked out."

He and his wife ended up with a tree limb and siding inside their house.

"This is the worst we've seen it," he said. "Lucky the whole house is still standing."

Fire crews said several people were hurt, but it's not clear how many, or how badly.

Emergency crews said the storm damaged everything from homes to barns and vehicles. They're working to assess all of the damage as they work to make sure everyone's accounted for.

National Weather Service teams will be out on Wednesday to survey the damage and determine how strong the tornado was.

Officials said another tornado touched down Tuesday morning in the western Illinois community of Colona, about 80 miles northwest of Peoria.

The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-2 tornado hit Colona.

Among the damage, the roof of a Shell gas station was completely ripped off.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.