Advanced notice by meteorologists for the high probability of the dangerous storm that hit Kankakee County was praised by three local elected officials.

Hopkins Park Mayor Mark Hodge, St. Anne Mayor Dave O’Connell and Momence Mayor Chuck Steele said it helped residents prepare.

“It was a pretty intense storm, that’s for sure. But they did a very good job of warning us,” Hodge said.

He said the village of approximately 800 was without power for 24 hours, but ComEd did a good job of getting the power back on, Hodge said

About 40 people took shelter at the predetermined site, Lorenzo Smith School.

“I did not receive any reports of damage or injury,” Hodge said.

“There were just a few branches here and there, but nothing in the roadways.”

Legislators who represent the village at both the state and national level got in touch with Hodge to see if they needed assistance, Hodge said.

Like Hodge, St. Anne’s O’Connell said residents were without power for about 24 hours.

“Our contacts at ComEd and Nicor were both fantastic. They stayed in touch,” O’Connell said.

The advanced notice for the high probability of a storm such as the one that hit Tuesday reminded O’Connell.

“You kind of get a little numb to it after a while, then something like this actually happens, and then you’re like, oh my god. We do have to take that seriously,” he said.

Personally, O’Connell’s sister’s home in Aroma Park was heavily damaged. She is okay, he said.

Momence’s Steele said the power flickered, but there was no significant outage.

Momence was one of 13 sites, including 11 in Illinois, where tornados touched down July 28, 2023.

The National Weather Service at Romeoville rated that twister EF1.

The city suffered damage on its southside, including the destruction of a two-story apartment building. There were no serious injuries.

Although there was no damage and no injuries, Steele said Tuesday’s storm affected many people.

“There are a lot of people who know somebody that was touched by this storm,” he said.