SOUTH WAYNE - A severe storm, which according to the National Weather Service lasted less than 40 minutes, took out power and knocked down a number of trees in the village of South Wayne Thursday night.
South Wayne Fire Chief Eric Berget said "the whole village was without power" after about six utility poles and roughly a dozen trees were brought down by strong winds.
"The National Weather Service called it a downburst," Berget said, referring to winds that reached roughly 85 to 90 miles per hour in the wake of the intense thunderstorm.
As of 8 a.m. Friday, electrical power had been restored, though a number of branches and other debris will need to be removed from streets.
"We had quite a mess," Berget said. "We've got a lot of clean up to do yet. There were several trees down and several power poles that just broke off."
Along East South Street in South Wayne, two tenants of Hillside Apartments suffered damage to their vehicles. Large trees that had cracked and fallen over in the storm covered two trucks.
Resident Kathleen Russell has been living in Hillside for 27 years. She said the trees had been there when the apartment complex was built. As the dark clouds rolled in, Russell and her oldest daughter, Kay Caley, watched on the patio. Caley, who was visiting from Illinois, said the pair decided to retreat inside as the wind and rain intensified just after 9 p.m.
"It only lasted a few minutes," Russell said, which is why both were surprised to find the fallen trees later. "But I shut the door and watched it."
Caley said she and Russell did have power throughout the evening but noticed the street lights had failed due to a tree falling on the line roughly a block away along East Grove Street.
"It looked like the tree had just severed the power lines," Caley said.
Miles away along West River Road between South Wayne and Browntown, Wayne Rosenstiel was shocked when one of the large pine trees lining the west side of his residence came crashing down onto a small portion of his home just after 9:30 p.m., inches from the window he had been standing beside.
"By the time I knew what was happening, it was over," Rosenstiel said. "My neighbors over the hill said they saw the funnel come over the (west) hill. If that had stayed down, we would've been in a lot more trouble."
Rosenstiel indicated he was no stranger to losing a pine tree, noting that since he purchased the home in 1979 his line of trees had dwindled due to wind damage. In total, four were damaged from the storm; one had lost its top while three others were cracked in varying places, and all had fallen toward the home. The tree that hit the home had caused some minor siding damage, Rosenstiel said. Though two nearby structures and a decorative well had been spared, if only by inches.
South Wayne Fire Chief Eric Berget said "the whole village was without power" after about six utility poles and roughly a dozen trees were brought down by strong winds.
"The National Weather Service called it a downburst," Berget said, referring to winds that reached roughly 85 to 90 miles per hour in the wake of the intense thunderstorm.
As of 8 a.m. Friday, electrical power had been restored, though a number of branches and other debris will need to be removed from streets.
"We had quite a mess," Berget said. "We've got a lot of clean up to do yet. There were several trees down and several power poles that just broke off."
Along East South Street in South Wayne, two tenants of Hillside Apartments suffered damage to their vehicles. Large trees that had cracked and fallen over in the storm covered two trucks.
Resident Kathleen Russell has been living in Hillside for 27 years. She said the trees had been there when the apartment complex was built. As the dark clouds rolled in, Russell and her oldest daughter, Kay Caley, watched on the patio. Caley, who was visiting from Illinois, said the pair decided to retreat inside as the wind and rain intensified just after 9 p.m.
"It only lasted a few minutes," Russell said, which is why both were surprised to find the fallen trees later. "But I shut the door and watched it."
Caley said she and Russell did have power throughout the evening but noticed the street lights had failed due to a tree falling on the line roughly a block away along East Grove Street.
"It looked like the tree had just severed the power lines," Caley said.
Miles away along West River Road between South Wayne and Browntown, Wayne Rosenstiel was shocked when one of the large pine trees lining the west side of his residence came crashing down onto a small portion of his home just after 9:30 p.m., inches from the window he had been standing beside.
"By the time I knew what was happening, it was over," Rosenstiel said. "My neighbors over the hill said they saw the funnel come over the (west) hill. If that had stayed down, we would've been in a lot more trouble."
Rosenstiel indicated he was no stranger to losing a pine tree, noting that since he purchased the home in 1979 his line of trees had dwindled due to wind damage. In total, four were damaged from the storm; one had lost its top while three others were cracked in varying places, and all had fallen toward the home. The tree that hit the home had caused some minor siding damage, Rosenstiel said. Though two nearby structures and a decorative well had been spared, if only by inches.