EAST ALTON — A powerful thunderstorm swept through Madison and St. Clair counties on the afternoon of Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, causing widespread power outages and prompting utility crews to respond quickly to restore service.
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The storm, marked by intense lightning and thunder, began impacting the area around 2 p.m., with Wood River and East Alton experiencing the first reported outages. Ameren Illinois reported that at the height of the storm, approximately 10,768 customers were without power across Madison and St. Clair counties. East Alton and Wood River were among the hardest hit communities.
Brian Bretsch, a spokesperson for Ameren Illinois, said the utility’s headquarters in Collinsville monitored the storm closely as it rolled through.
“We did have quite a storm roll through with thunder and lightning,” Bretsch said. He noted that at about 3:30 p.m., the number of customers without power peaked.
In East Alton, about 7,900 customers in Madison County lost power, including around 4,000 customers along Old St. Louis Road. In Wood River and surrounding areas, outages affected roughly 2,000 customers, with smaller numbers impacted in Pontoon Beach and Granite City.
By 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, Ameren crews had rerouted power to nearly all affected customers in St. Clair County, reducing the outage count from 2,868 to just 26 without power. The utility was able to isolate the issue and control the affected lines, allowing many residents to regain power within a few hours.
Bretsch said crews were assessing damage and determining the next steps for restoration efforts.
“Now that the storm has moved through the area, our guys finished assessing the classic storm damage,” he said. “We will be out right away, assessing damage to see what can be rerouted from other sources or if any equipment is down or if outside resources are needed.”
While the storm brought significant lightning, it was unclear if wind played a role in the outages. Utility crews remain on alert as they continue to evaluate the situation and work to restore full service to all customers.
