Northwest Indiana was hit with two tornadoes and a derecho storm Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
A tornado was reported from Cedar Lake through Valparaiso traveling 29.1 miles with a peak of 90 mile per hour winds. Its max width was 300 yards, and it was recorded from 9:52 p.m. to 10:20 p.m., according to NWS.
The tornado touched down near Eagle Lake in Will County, Ill., then headed toward Cedar Lake, where it damaged a chimney and garage of a home east of U.S. 41, according to the weather service.
From there, the tornado continued towards the southern edge of Crown Point, where it damaged trees along the way. In Crown Point, the tornado caused mainly damage to trees, but the roof and siding of an industrial building was damaged, according to the weather service.
The tornado moved across I-65 through eastern Lake County and into Porter County. At this point, the tornado weakened a little but then intensified as it entered Valparaiso, where it took down large tree limbs that caused damage to a home and vehicle, according to NWS.
The tornado lifted north of Evans Avenue in Valparaiso east of Indiana 49, according to the weather service. It did not result in injuries or fatalities.
The Porter County Emergency Management Agency said Thursday the Indiana Department of Homeland Security will be in Porter County from Monday through Wednesday next week to assist in assessing the storm damage, according to a county press release.
The assessment will help IDHS and county officials determine if government assistance thresholds have been met, according to the press release.
“This is the next step to developing a course of action in the disaster recovery process,” said Porter County Emergency Management Director Lance Bella in the statement.
Porter County residents should contact Indiana211 at (866) 211-9966 or at in211.communityos.org to report severe storm damage. Any agricultural damage should be reported to the Purdue Extension, according to the release.
Another tornado was also reported from Shelby to Wheatfield Township traveling 13.7 miles with a peak of 75 mile per hour winds. Its max width was 100 yards, and it was recorded from 10:02 p.m. to 10:14 p.m., according to NWS.
The tornado started west of state route 55 north of Shelby and tracked east-northeast as it crossed over I-65 and U.S. Highway 231 into Jasper County before weakening in Wheatfield Township. It resulted in downed trees, large tree branches falling onto roofs and roof paneling being peeled off a storage facility, according to the weather service.
Monday’s storm was classified as a derecho, said NWS meteorologist Scott Baker. A derecho begins as a severe thunderstorm and grows in size, he said.
To be classified as a derecho, Baker said the storm has to track 250 miles and reach wind speeds of 75 miles per hour. Monday’s storm started in Eastern Iowa then tracked through Northern Illinois, Northwest Indiana and Southern Michigan, he said, and its wind speeds reached 75 miles per hour.
Derechos occur when there is temperature instability and a shift in the weather pattern, Baker said. They happen every 3 to 5 years, he said, and typically occur between May and August, even into September if the weather stays warm.
“We’re noticing that it’s a thing that happens every handful of years,” Baker said. “The only thing we can do is prepare for them.”
At the height of the storm, NIPSCO reported about 103,000 people were without power, though that was down to 68,500 by early Tuesday afternoon, mostly in the northwest portion of the utility’s service area.
As of noon Thursday, NIPSO reported that 95% of the 110,000 homes and businesses affected by the storm have been restored. Crews were still out Thursday restoring connection for the remaining 5,500 customers who still don’t have power from Monday’s storm.
The company said the majority of customers still without power should be restored by Thursday night. But areas like East Chicago, Griffith, Hammond, Lake Station, Lowell and Munster would be restored Friday or Saturday, according to the utility company.
In Cedar Lake, Laura Nagel, 44, died after a tree fell onto her house, officials said. Baker said investigators determined that the tree fell onto her house as a result of damaging wind, not the tornado.
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The weather service found straight-line winds south of the tornado’s track caused the tree to fall on her house.
“There was no other evidence in that vicinity to classify it as a tornado,” Baker said.
Cedar Lake police and fire crews responded to a call at the home in the 8900 hundred block of West 141st Lane at 10 p.m. Monday. The caller stated a tree had fallen on the house and an occupant of the home had been injured, according to a police news release.
Officers found Nagle inside a bedroom with fatal injuries. Nagle was pronounced deceased at 10:18 p.m. and her manner of death was ruled an accident, according to the Lake County Coroner’s office.
Yellow police tape circled the home, which is gray with a dark blue door, Tuesday morning. A large tree laid across the roof, and its branches rested on the Dodge Nitro parked outside the house.
Parts of the roof and a windowpane, as well as several branches from surrounding trees, were scattered outside the home. A fireman arrived at the scene at around 10:45 a.m. and took a few pictures of the home before driving away.
Josh Myers, 30, who lives across the street from the home, said he was outside watching the storm and he saw the tree fall on the house. At the moment, Myers said he ran inside his house to take cover but he felt he should go help his neighbors.
“I thought it just fell on their car. Then all the police came and I didn’t want to be in their way,” Myers said.
Myers said he didn’t know Nagel, but he would often see her, a man and young children around the house. Myers said he’d see them working around the house outside, the kids playing and their dog outside.
“They seemed like nice people. It’s really unfortunate,” Myers said.