The National Weather Service Chicago says at least 16 tornadoes have been confirmed in their coverage area, including an EF-1 in Merrillville, an EF-1 tornado near Remington and EF-2 near Fowler. Meteorologists also said further investigation into damage in Valparaiso and Portage as well as other areas will take place over the coming days. The Northern Indiana forecast office says they have confirmed six, the most in a single severe weather outbreak since August 2016, and it is possible other tornado tracks will be identified. Two Friday night were in White County. Here are links to the National Weather Service Chicago and National Weather Service Northern Indiana for updates.
In an update Sunday night, NIPSCO said they and their contractor crews are working on restoring electric service to 550 customers who remain impacted by Friday night’s severe storms, down from 23,000 at peak. The utility company said a substantial amount of individual repairs are required. Some of the hardest hit areas include Merrillville, Hobart and Portage. Here is a link for outage updates.
Officials in Merrillville say Madison Meadows near 76th and Madison Street as well as the Forest Hills neighborhood were hit especially hard with home roofs blown off and downed trees and power lines. There were report of structural damage to several homes from roofs being removed or from tree damage. No reports of injuries.
