Straight-Line Winds Rip House Apart

A Champaign County home had major damage from Sunday's storms, but it has been ruled that a tornado did not hit the area.

The ruling came Monday from officials with the National Weather Service who toured the area and assessed the damage.

The storm that moved through damaged the home of Jeremy Houston who lives on Church Road near the village of Rosewood.

"The whole house shook. I thought somebody dropped a bomb," Houston said.

Houston was home when the storm moved through, causing trees to tumbled onto his house. Part of the roof came out, and the front door was blown off, Houston said.

Officials said the storm also blew a house trailer apart that is now in a million pieces.

"Trailer's demolished. So, trees are going to be planted. It's just a mess to get started," Houston said.

Houston said he thought for sure that a tornado did all of the damage. However, Ken Haydu from the National Weater Service said that straight-line winds are to blame.

"If you look at the roof damage, it's pulled up from the west, not from the east at all. So everything we're looking at was straight-line winds at 80 to 100 mph," Haydu said.

The designation of what kind of storm it was is important because some insurance coverage applies more completely if it is officially a tornado.

The cleanup continues.