Strong Storms Cause Damage Across Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS — Severe weather pounded parts of Indiana Thursday night, bringing strong winds and rain to the Hoosier State.

The National Weather Service received numerous reports as the front swept through Indiana. As of 9 a.m., more than 130,000 customers were without power across the state. The bulk of those outages were in north and northwest Indiana, with Elkhart, Lake, St. Joseph and Porter counties being hit hard.

AES Indiana reported more than 2,500 customers without power, many of them concentrated in communities south of Indianapolis. Duke Energy reported more than 10,400 customers without power.

While the storm prompted tornado warnings in central Indiana, it appeared straight-line winds were the driving force behind storm damage. It was a different story in the northwestern part of the state, where there were multiple reports of tornadoes.

Storm reports indicated wind gusts in excess of 65 mph in many locations around the state, with several reports of downed trees and power lines.

In Sheridan, a report showed a wind gust of 66 mph. A weather report from Kirklin indicated eight “healthy trees were down, 12 to 14 inches in diameter.”

Renee Crick, Clinton County EMA director, said trees were down throughout the county, with the worst of the damage in Kirklin. In an 8:20 a.m. email update, Crick said the whole town was without power and some roads were still closed.

A report from Peru showed a gust of 65 mph. Just north of there, in Denver, the storm downed multiple tree branches.

In Homecroft, a report said the storm uprooted an 18-inch tree. Nearby in Greenwood, a large tree branch 30 inches in length was down on Peterman Road.

FOX59/CBS4 crews observed damage to Greenwood Bible Baptist Church, where a portion of the roof was torn off.

Similar storm damage was reported from Kokomo to Richmond, with strong winds battering Indiana communities, bringing down trees and damaging homes.