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© WGN-TV / April 20, 2011Storm damage near Litchfield, Ill.
Severe storms raked portions of southern and central Illinois late Tuesday, damaging homes, blowing rail cars off of tracks and leaving thousands of people without power.

Several tornadoes were reported, but there were no reports of injuries. The storm also pelted the region with golf ball-sized hail and driving rain.

More than 48,000 electric customers in central and southern Illinois are without power.

In northern Illinois, torrential rainfall and hail forced the cancellation of about 450 flights at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Midway International Airport was reporting delays of up to 30 minutes.

Some of the worst damage was in Girard, about 20 miles south of Springfield. Fire Chief Gary Otten says about 15 homes were damaged and many may be beyond repair. Otten said two barns also were destroyed.

"It's pretty clear to us it was a tornado - at least one, maybe two," said Girard Emergency Management Director Jim Pitchford.

The National Weather Service in Lincoln says it isn't yet clear if straight-line winds or tornadoes caused the damage. Trained weather spotters did report seeing funnel clouds and tornados.

Hail of up to 1.25 inches in diameter also hit parts of the state and stormed drenched many areas.

Ameren Illinois crews were working to restore power to about 48,900 customers as of 7 a.m. According to the National Weather Service in Lincoln, high winds reportedly managed to blow some rail cars off the tracks in Christian County's Taylorville, where a deluge also left flooding that include pooling water a foot deep on some streets.

In Montgomery County, just north of Litchfield, high winds damaged two homes and downed power lines, according to Litchfield Fire Department Captain Chris Handshy.

Midland Fire District Assistant Chief Guy Choate said "trained eyes" spotted a tornado in central Christian County. According Choate, strong winds damaged a house, a couple of grain bins and a shed near Kincaid, southeast of Springfield. They also knocked down a few power lines.

The twister, which Choate says the spotters lost sight of because of "rain wrapping," missed populated areas of the county.

Flash flood warnings were in effect across central and southern portions of the state.