SOUTHERN ILLINOIS — Severe storms rolled through our area Wednesday afternoon and evening bringing with them heavy rain, hail, high winds, a few tornadoes, as well as several severe thunderstorm warnings, tornado watches, and tornado warnings.

Williamson County Emergency Management says a tornado just outside of Marion touched down and dissipated before reaching any population areas.

Tornado damage has been reported in Williamson and Saline counties, and a funnel cloud was reportedly spotted in Jackson County.

911 service in Marion and the surrounding area was affected by the storms.

Trees and power lines down caused some power outages across the area.

Vienna Grade School is closed today due to power being out in the building. Flooding has also become an issue due to heavy rainfall.

Ferrell Hospital in Eldorado received significant flooding damage due to the severe storms Wednesday.

The hospital is officially on diversion and not accepting any new patients including the emergency department.

Current patients in the hospital have been transferred to other local facilities.

US-45 is closed in both directions from US-50 in Flora to Central Ave. (County Highway 16) in Cisne for power line repairs in both Wayne and Clay Counties.

And in Marion County, Woods Lane between Meadow Lane and Route 161 in Centralia is closed until crews clear a large tree across the roadway sometime today.