Severe Weather

So far, State Farm and Country Financial have fielded a combined 656 insurance claims in McLean County from the April 17 storms and tornadoes.

With an additional $1.6 million Sorensen plans to pursue through the appropriations process this year, federal grants would cover well over half of a major upgrade to Uptown's overwhelmed sewer system.

The City of Bloomington is getting close to the end of cleanup from the tornadoes that swept through the Twin Cities on April 17. City Manager Jeff Jurgens said city crews have hauled away 442 truckloads of debris.

The Red Cross will be at The Hub at the Government Center in Downtown Bloomington from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday.

Here we go again: McLean County and the rest of Illinois will be at an enhanced risk of severe storms Monday. Very large hail, damaging wind gusts up to 70 mph, and tornadoes are all possible, according to the National Weather Service.

The Town of Normal has collected more storm debris in less than a week than all the waste it hauled away in March.

The National Weather Service says two of the reported tornadoes that tore through Bloomington last Friday night were actually one continuous twister. That tornado was rated an EF1 with wind speeds of up to 110 mph.

Deputy City Manager Sue McLaughlin said public works crews hope to reach all of the affected homes and businesses — for the first pass-through — by the end of this week.

Residents experiencing outages, property damage, flooding, tree damage, or service disruptions are encouraged to self-report to assist countywide response efforts.

Six tornadoes struck McLean County on Friday night, according to the National Weather Service — three of them in Bloomington and Normal.