LOOK: High Winds Caused Wicked Damage in Illinois Overnight

Did anyone else wake up this morning and feel like the wind pulled a 'Grinch' on us last night?

Following a terrible night of sleep with the wind howling and my husband waking me and our kids up at 1:30 a.m. to go sleep in the basement, I rose at 4:15 to survey the damage around our home. Besides a missing porch light swag, and a toppled outdoor Christmas tree and deer decorations, everything else seems relatively unscathed, and I am extremely thankful for that. We never lost power, we don't have many trees in our yard so cleanup won't be a disaster, but I know A LOT of other Illinois residents have it far worse this morning.

Many Stateline area communities experienced power outages and the damage that can be seen throughout the streets stretches far beyond some downed tree branches. Outdoor holiday decorations took a hurtin' last night, and this picture from Your Chicago Weather might be one of the saddest ones I've seen posted so far this morning...

Your Chicago Weather via Facebook

Your Chicago Weather captioned the photo with "Boy is it windy in Chicago. Santa had one too many tonight… hopefully your Christmas lights make it!", and although that statement makes you snicker, the damage sustained last night throughout the state of Illinois is anything but funny.

Rockford's Festival of Lights Got Hit HARD by High Winds

Do you want the good news or the bad news first about Rockford's beloved Festival of Lights in Sinnissippi Park?

The good news is, Festival of Lights will be open tonight for your viewing enjoyment, but the bad news is, things might look a little...disheveled. Here are a few pics that Ted O'Donnell from the Festival of Lights committee sent us of the damage sustained overnight...

Provided photo

Ted told us he and a group of volunteers will be working hard all day to clean up the damage and test all of the light displays, and he was also adamant that the show WILL go on.

If you roll through the Festival of Lights tonight, this weekend, or next week, can you please make sure to throw some extra money in the donation bin at the end? This wonderful event is funded entirely by donations, and it looks like they'll need more money to repair and replace some of the displays. You can also donate to the Festival of Lights online at 4thandlights.com.

Have you got pics of wind damage in your yard? Send them to us on the Q98.5 app.

TIPS: Here's how you can prepare for power outages

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