Dangerous storms with tornadoes and huge hail pounded the central United States between Tuesday and Wednesday, killing at least two people.
The storm threat is not over. More than 90 million people from the Gulf Coast to the Mid-Atlantic could experience severe storms today. And the tornado threat, while not as severe as Tuesday, is far from over.
The latest ones are:
Tornado kills two: An elderly man and woman from Lake Village, Indiana, were killed when a tornado ripped through rural Newton County, Indiana, about an hour south of Chicago, the coroner said. Several other people were hospitalized. First responders said there was “complete destruction” in the small community.
Several tornadoes reported: At least 10 tornadoes have been reported so far in three states: Texas, Illinois and Indiana due to Tuesday’s storm. The long-lasting supercell spawned multiple tornadoes as it moved across Illinois and Indiana, including one that struck Kankakee, Illinois, damaging several homes and buildings. Several people were injured, but no one was killed, the mayor said.
Storm threat continues: Strong storms have been in place since Wednesday morning, and a tornado watch was again issued for parts of Illinois and Indiana, this time south of the region Tuesday night. Kentucky and Ohio were also targeted. The storm will continue moving eastward early Wednesday morning, but a new burst of energy could increase the threat in the afternoon.
Monster Hail: This storm also produced hailstones larger than softballs that crushed cars and caused damage in Illinois. One hailstone was 6 inches in diameter, twice the size of a baseball, potentially setting a new state record.
Lake Village in northwestern Indiana was one of the small towns in neighboring Illinois that was the epicenter of the tornado.
“Just before 7 p.m. Tuesday, a large tornado struck our community and hit us hard,” said Lori Postma, spokesperson for the Lake Village Volunteer Fire Department.
Lake Township Volunteer Fire Department Chief Rob Churchill said first responders conducted an initial assessment overnight and found “complete devastation.”
“Some houses were destroyed. Some people were trapped in their homes. Livestock was released,” he said.
“(The damage) is significant. Please don’t come here. Please don’t try to help,” Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran said in a video post late Tuesday night from Lake Village, where the tornado appeared to have reduced at least one home to rubble.
Officials said injuries and widespread damage were reported in other parts of Indiana and Illinois.
Drone footage from Kankakee County, Illinois, showed buildings torn apart and debris strewn across neighborhoods after the tornado passed through. Emergency crews spent the night searching for damaged homes, moving through the wreckage with flashlights and stepping over splintered timbers and fallen trees.
Brandi Pepin said she had only minutes of warning before the storm reached her home. Her brother called and said he saw the tornado heading straight for her house.
“Thank God,” Pepin told CNN. “And I ran and grabbed my dog, who was already in the closet, and went down to our crawl space. And I literally pulled the door open. He fell into the crawl space, and I went down there and tornadoed him out. It was so loud.”
“There will be a small ‘bang’ and then a big bang,” she says. “You could tell it was very loud, just the debris hitting the house and the sound of something hitting the house.”
The Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office activated its Emergency Operations Center and filed a declaration of emergency with the State of Illinois.
“We would like to remind local residents to check on their neighbors and loved ones and avoid unnecessary travel as much as possible,” Sheriff Mike Downey said.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said he has been briefed on the damage caused by the storm and is monitoring the situation.
“Our thoughts are with all Illinoisans affected by the severe weather and we are here to help them recover,” he said.
Some dangerous storms have been in place across the Midwest and Texas since Wednesday morning, and will intensify in the afternoon as the threat grows and moves east.
The chance of severe storms Wednesday is lower than yesterday, but could still be dangerous. More than 65 million people from the Gulf Coast to the Ohio Valley and the mid-Atlantic are under a Level 2/5 threat of severe storms. Approximately 28 million other people are under threat from a Level 1/5 storm.
Storms could hit Houston, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and other cities.
Damaging winds are the main concern, but a few tornadoes are possible. Some storms could produce large hail, but it won’t be as extreme as what will fall on the Plains and parts of the Midwest on Tuesday.
The chance for severe storms will weaken on Thursday as a change in weather patterns begins to blanket the United States. That break continues through the end of the week.
