Dozens of warnings were issued Sunday afternoon and night as powerful spring storms rolled throughout the state, leaving one person dead, another hurt, and trails of damage.
The National Weather Service received word that a person died in Valparaiso after a semi truck rolled southeast of the intersection of U.S. 30 and State Road 49. Winds in the area gusted to 81 mph about 2 p.m. Central time (3 p.m. Eastern time). News 8 contacted authorities in Porter County, northwest Indiana, for more information.
According to National Weather Service records, at least four semis overturned during severe gusts.
A person was also injured when a mobile home was demolished in Donaldson, an unincorporated town in Marshall County, northern Indiana, according to the meteorological service. No other information was immediately provided.
According to poweroutage.us, more than 114,000 Hoosier energy utility customers lost power soon before 8:30 p.m. By 9 p.m., the figure had reduced to more than 112,000 as the storms had gone beyond Indiana, and crews began restoring electricity.
Across Indiana, the weather service received scores of reports of trees falling into houses, garages, other structures, and automobiles, as well as onto roadways, blocking them. In Bartholomew County, where a tornado warning was issued Sunday night, trees were reported to have been downed and stripped of their bark.
Near the west gate of Brown County State Park in Nashville, several treetops collapsed. Central Indiana issued a tornado warning Sunday night, including Brown County.
Also reported to the National Weather Service:
A shot showed metal roof panels peeling from an outbuilding at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Boswell.
A barn and silo in Cass County were reported to be structurally damaged, with sheet metal hanging from power lines near Logansport.
Strong winds damaged a billboard along Interstate 69 near St. Johns, DeKalb County.
The emergency management organization in Rochester, Fulton County, lost a tiny radio tower and a big piece of a metal outbuilding’s roof and wall.
St. Peter Lutheran Church and School in North Judson, Starke County, had substantial pieces of its roof blown off.
In addition to severe gusts, some places were damaged by hail. Evansville and Terre Haute saw hail the size of peas and quarters, accompanied by torrential rain.
Tornado watches issued across the state ahead of the storms had expired as they proceeded eastward toward Ohio.