Indiana tornado damage: Town-by-town breakdown

Northwest Indiana woke up today to splintered homes, blocked streets and a long cleanup after multiple strong tornadoes carved paths through Lake and Porter counties Thursday evening, part of a larger outbreak that battered northern Illinois and the wider Midwest.

The early assessment is grim but contains one piece of genuine relief: despite homes being totally destroyed, only minor injuries had been reported as of overnight, though search efforts and damage assessments remain ongoing.

What happened

The storms arrived in waves beginning in the late afternoon, having already produced tornadoes in Illinois, including one that collapsed homes in Streator, before crossing the state line. A tornado was first observed near State Line Road moving through the St. John area, then tracked northeast toward Schererville before witnesses reported a stovepipe tornado near 61st Avenue and Broadway in Merrillville.

A second powerful tornado tracked further south. The National Weather Service warned at 8:12 p.m. that a confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado was over Kouts, about 8 miles east of Hebron, prompting a rare Particularly Dangerous Situation tag and warnings that flying debris could be deadly. Additional touchdowns were reported near Lowell along Interstate 65 and near Wanatah in LaPorte County.

In Hebron, resident Beth Bowen described ears popping and doors shaking before emerging to find her garage collapsed, telling CBS News Chicago the family felt the house physically move.

The damage, town by town

Merrillville appears to be the hardest-hit community in the region. Roofs were torn from buildings at the Edgewood Apartments behind Andrean High School, numerous homes along the 61st Avenue corridor were damaged or destroyed, and downed trees, power lines and utility poles left many streets impassable. Part of the high school’s roof was ripped off, and the school confirmed significant damage including downed trees and broken windows. A command center has been established near 61st and Cleveland Street, with agencies from as far as Illinois assisting.

Elsewhere the picture varied sharply. St. John saw primarily tree damage, Schererville largely escaped as the tornado tracked just outside town limits, and Hobart reported trees down on homes and scattered property damage rather than widespread structural destruction. Hebron suffered multiple destroyed homes, and the lakefront town of Ogden Dunes reported widespread damage. Commuters felt the impact too, as all South Shore Line trains were temporarily halted at the height of the storms.

The power toll is enormous. Nearly 500,000 customers across Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan were still without electricity early today.

What we don’t know yet

The official tornado count and intensity ratings. The National Weather Service says damage surveys will be conducted over the coming days to determine how many tornadoes occurred and the track and intensity of each. Survey teams measure damage against the Enhanced Fujita scale, from EF0 to EF5, and the destruction described in Merrillville and Hebron, with well-built homes destroyed, suggests at least strong EF2-range ratings are possible. Those preliminary findings typically arrive within 24 to 72 hours.

Why warnings worked matters here too. Radar debris signatures, the telltale sign of a tornado actively lofting wreckage, allowed forecasters to confirm tornadoes in real time and issue life-saving lead time, which likely contributed to the absence of serious casualties despite direct hits on populated areas.

What happens next

Crews worked through the night clearing roads, and officials in damaged communities are asking residents and onlookers to stay away from impacted neighborhoods so utility and search teams can work. Anyone with storm damage should document it thoroughly with photos before cleanup for insurance purposes, and beware of post-storm contractor scams that historically follow tornado outbreaks.

The cold front behind the system has ended the severe threat for now and broken the heat that fueled it. The region’s focus turns to restoration, the NWS survey results, and the slower work of rebuilding along 61st Avenue.

SOURCE: WSBT