Unlike a Year Ago, Downers Grove Avoids Heavy Storm Damage

While neighboring communities were , Downers Grove escaped relatively unscathed.

It was a different story a year ago when Downers Grove was hit hard by a tornado in June——and , causing massive power outages across the village. In the wake of the storms, the village took a more , resulting in tree trimmings, new equipment installations and between ComEd, the village and its residents.

Did those things matter, or did Downers Grove just luck out? According to village communications director Doug Kozlowski, the answer may be somewhere in-between.

“I can certainly say if you watched how the storms came through the area we received the least of that activity,” he said. “We did not get the full impact of any of those systems.”

Though Kozlowski was keen on giving credit for the good fortune to Jet streams, he did say at least one improvement made since last year's storms made an impact.

“Once the work is completed by ComEd, we'll make the assessment on how effective the activity has been with the tree trimmings and new equipment installations,” he said. “Certainly, the stepped-up tree trimming has helped.”

If you find yourself without power, there are numerous resources at your disposal (of course, provided you have a smartphone or access to a laptop). You can check out ComEd's Outage Map, which tells you where outages are occurring and how many customers are affected by the outages. You can also to alert them to outages. Additionally, if you need more information about finding shelter and deciphering sirens, check out this .pdf.