Joliet Storm Damage: Trees Down, Stop Lights Out

JOLIET, IL — Monday afternoon's high winds that rolled through Joliet around 3:30 p.m. caused power outages and downed several trees along West Jefferson Street and other parts of the city.

In the Cathedral Area, at least one car had a large tree land on its roof. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. On Jefferson Street, there were several intersections where broken trees landed in the street, causing motorists to slow down and maneuver around the trees to safety.

One large tree landed in eastbound West Jefferson Street near the Saint Patrick's Cemetery. Another tree landed in the road near Reed Street, as well as Woodlawn Avenue and also near Caterpillar Drive near the stop light in front of Babe's Hotdogs.

Mayor Bob O'Dekirk said that Joliet police officers, public works crews and firefighters will remain busy throughout the night helping with storm cleanup. O'Dekirk said Monday's damage was not nearly as bad as the May storm that rocked the Cathedral Area.

"It's not quite as bad as last timst but it's still pretty bad," O'Dekirk told Joliet Patch on Monday.

O'Dekirk said there was a downed tree blocking the street in the 1000 block of William Street and there were other downed trees in the street near Buell Avenue and Western Avenue. Numerous homes were without power in the Cathedral Area, the mayor said.

"Public works is clearing the streets and Com-Ed has been notified of the areas without power," O'Dekirk said. "It's unfortunate that we have to go through this again, some of the same areas that were hit in May."

Around 5 p.m., Joliet police announced on social media that officers were responding to multiple calls of trees and power lines down, flooding and accidents across the city. There were also numerous roads blocked all over Joliet because of storm debris, police said.

"Please drive carefully and prepare be prepared to take detours," the agency advised its followers on Facebook.

The photo below is of a downed tree in the Cathedral Area on Raynor Avenue. Patch saw several Joliet Fire Department engines responding to the storm damage on Joliet's west side.

More than 117,000 ComEd customers across Illinois lost power as a result of Monday's storms, the company reported.