Severe weather swept through central Indiana Sunday, cutting a swatch of damage through several counties.
According to storm reports from the National Weather Service, most damage was attributed to straight-line winds and hail. Wind gusts exceeding 60 mph were reported in several communities, with an 80-mph gust reported in Valparaiso late Sunday afternoon.
This was a widespread event, with damage reported as far north as St. Joseph County and as far south as Warrick County. Damage reports stretched from as far west as Vermillion County to as far east as Randolph County, according to the NWS.
Damage reports weren’t limited solely to Indiana. Throughout the Midwest and Tennessee Valley, there were 367 incidents of reported wind damage, 198 reports involving hail and three reported tornadoes (Missouri, Michigan and Tennessee so far). It’s possible the NWS will confirm additional tornadoes near Bartholomew, Brown and Monroe counties.
The storms left tens of thousands of Hoosiers without power. As of 6:30 a.m. Monday, more than 53,000 outages were reported statewide, concentrated to the north (including St. Joseph, Porter and Elkhart counties) and south (including Bartholomew and Decatur counties).
St. Joseph County had the most outages, with more than 20,000.
The storm prompted multiple thunderstorm and tornado watches and warnings.
Storm-related fatalities reported
Fatalities have been reported in the northern part of the state.
In Valparaiso, strong winds tipped over a semi tractor-trailer, killing the driver. According to WGN, Porter County deputies responded to the 3000 block of Anthony Pratt Drive where they found the truck and trailer on its side. The 34-year-old driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
In Elkhart County, authorities confirmed another weather-related death.
Strong winds from a thunderstorm knocked over an Amish buggy at the intersection of State Road 13 and County Road 43 near Millersburg.
The incident resulted in a fatality, according to the NWS.
Northern Indiana
The NWS received multiple reports of storm damage in Indiana’s northern counties. In Roseland, the storm downed several trees. In Osceola, winds broke or snapped eight utility poles.
In Mishawaka, a report indicated the storm uprooted a large pine tree, which fell on a small residential structure. Another report said numerous trees were down in the area, with at least one building sustaining “significant shingle loss.” The story was much the same in Granger.
To the northwest, Gary Airport reported a wind gust of 74 mph and sustained winds of 48 mph for about ten minutes. Other reports indicated downed trees and power lines. Near Hebron, a construction trailer overturned. A nearby weather station reported a gust of 61 mph.
Central Indiana
Reports to Indianapolis and the surrounding area were limited to mostly hail damage, according to the NWS.
Brownsburg, Avon, Beech Grove, Fortville and Monrovia were among the communities reporting hail or hail damage.
Indianapolis International Airport reported a wind gust of 60 mph at 7:13 p.m.
South of Indianapolis
Some of the hardest-hit areas included Bartholomew, Brown and Monroe counties to the south.
In Columbus, there were numerous reports of trees and utility poles down. One-inch hail was also reported there, and to the north in Taylorsville, a 60-mph wind gust was reported.
Bartholomew County EMA said “significant” winds hit the entire county, downing trees and power lines. Four homes had trees or power lines on top of them, although no injuries were reported.
Bartholomew County REMC told residents the damage was widespread and repairs would take a significant amount of time.
“Please plan for a prolonged outage,” the utility wrote on Facebook. “We have crews working through the night. We also have mutual aid and contractor crews coming in this morning.”
In Brown County, a report said “numerous tree tops” were taken out and several trees were down at the west gate of Brown County State Park. Another report from Brown County said strong winds tossed a trampoline some 100 yards; the report indicated a wind gust of 68 mph.
Reports from Monroe and Owen counties showed large hail, with one-inch hail in Spencer and 0.75-inch hail near Ellettsville.
