Tornado kills 2 in Indiana with another bout of dangerous storms ongoing

( CNN )

Dangerous storms with tornadoes and giant hail tore across the Central US overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, killing at least two people.

The storm threat isn’t over. Over 90 million people from the Gulf Coast to the Mid-Atlantic could experience severe storms today. And the tornado threat, while less significant than Tuesday, isn’t over, either.

Here’s the latest:

• Tornado kills two: An elderly man and woman in Lake Village, Indiana, died after a tornado hit the rural community around an hour south of Chicago, the Newton County, Indiana, coroner said. Several others were hospitalized. First responders said there was “total devastation” in the small community.

• Several tornadoes reported: At least 10 tornadoes have been reported so far from Tuesday’s storms in three states: Texas, Illinois and Indiana. A long-lasting supercell spawned multiple tornadoes as it tracked across Illinois and Indiana, including one that ripped through Kankakee, Illinois, causing damage to several homes and buildings there. Several people were injured, but no one died, the city’s mayor said.

• Storm threat continues: Strong storms were ongoing Wednesday morning, prompting a tornado watch in parts of Illinois and Indiana again, this time south of the areas hit Tuesday night. Kentucky and Ohio were also in the watch. Storms will continue pushing east early Wednesday, but will get a new burst of energy in the afternoon that could intensify the threat.

• Monster hail: The storms also produced softball-sized or larger hail that crushed cars and caused damage in Illinois. One hailstone measured 6 inches in diameter, twice the size of a baseball, and may have set a new state record.

‘Total devastation’ in Indiana

Lake Village, in northwest Indiana, was one of the small towns in the state and neighboring Illinois at the epicenter of the tornado damage.

“Right before 7 p.m. (Tuesday), a large tornado hit our community, and it hit us hard,” Lake Township Volunteer Fire Department spokesperson Lori Postma said.

When first responders made an early assessment overnight, they found “total devastation,” fire department chief Rob Churchill said.

“There were houses that were collapsed. There were people trapped in houses. There’s livestock loose,” he said.

“[There is] a lot of damage. Please do not come here. Do not try to help,” Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran said in a video post from Lake Village late Tuesday night, where the tornado appeared to have reduced at least one home to rubble behind him.

Injuries and widespread damage were reported in other parts of Indiana and Illinois, according to officials.

Several houses and other structures were also damaged after a tornado hit Starke County, Indiana, but there were no injuries or deaths, according to Starke County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Wayne James. The county includes the town of Knox, where the National Weather Service issued a tornado emergency — the most urgent type of tornado warning.

Drone video from Kankakee County, Illinois, showed buildings torn apart and debris scattered across neighborhoods after the tornado moved through. Emergency crews navigated the wreckage overnight with flashlights, stepping over splintered lumber and fallen trees as they searched damaged homes.

Nine people had minor injuries but there have been no deaths or people reported missing in the county, according to Kankakee County Chairman Matthew Alexander-Hildebrand. “While homes, buildings and infrastructure can be rebuilt — lives cannot be replaced,” he said.

Brandy Peppin said she had only minutes of warning before the storm reached her house. Her brother called to say he could see the tornado heading straight toward her home.

“Thank God,” Peppin told CNN. “And I ran, grabbed my dog who was already in the closet where we go down into the crawl space and. Literally pulled the door open. He fell into the crawl space, and I went down there and we rode the tornado out. It was so loud.”

“There would be little ‘bang bangs’ and then big ones,” she said. “You could just tell that there was debris hitting the house and hear things hitting the house — it was so loud.”

The Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office activated its Emergency Operations Center and filed an emergency declaration with Illinois.

“I want to remind area residents to check on their neighbors and loved ones but to avoid unnecessary travel, if at all possible,” Sheriff Mike Downey said. 

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said he had been briefed on the storm damage and was monitoring the situation.

“Keeping in our thoughts all Illinoisans impacted by the severe weather – we’ll be here to help them recover,” he said.

Wednesday’s forecast

Some hazardous storms ongoing Wednesday morning in the Midwest and Texas will get another boost of energy in the afternoon as the threat stretches out and tracks east.

Wednesday’s severe storm potential is lower than yesterday’s, but could still be dangerous.

More than 65 million people from the Gulf Coast to the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic are under a Level 2 of 5 threat for severe storms. Nearly 28 million others are under a Level 1 of 5 severe storm threat.

Storms could pack a punch in Houston, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington, DC, and other cities.

Damaging winds are the primary concern, but a few tornadoes are possible. A few storms could also pack large hail, but not to the extreme size that pelted parts of the Plains and Midwest on Tuesday.

Severe storm potential will diminish Thursday as a weather pattern change begins to envelop the US. That break will continue as the week comes to an end.