Severe storms sweep through Illinois and Indiana causing deaths, injuries and damage
Severe storms killed two people and injured several others in Illinois and Indiana on Tuesday after supercell thunderstorms produced at least four tornadoes, hail and flash flooding across the region.
The deaths occurred in Indiana, where officials said an elderly couple was killed after a tornado struck a home in Lake Village, according to ABC7 Chicago. In Illinois, nine people were injured in Kankakee County, but no deaths were reported there, the station reported.
One supercell spawned at least four tornadoes across Livingston and Kankakee counties in Illinois and Newton, Jasper and Starke counties in northwestern Indiana, according to the National Weather Service.
Rain rates reached 1 to 2 inches per hour, with rapid ponding reported on major expressways, FOX Weather reported. A flood watch was issued for Cook County and parts of Illinois from 2 p.m. Tuesday until 3 a.m. Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune reported.
A hailstone measuring six inches fell in Kankakee, which may set a new Illinois state record, surpassing the previous record of 4.75 inches set in Minooka in June 2015, according to the weather service.
A second supercell dropped hail ranging from two to four inches across the southern and western Chicago metro area, with a 4.8-inch hailstone measured in Darien, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Several intersections in Kankakee were flooded, according to Fox Weather, and heavy rainfall triggered localized flash flooding in urban areas and locations with poor drainage, The Watchers reported. Parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana were already recovering from the previous week's deadly weather, leaving the ground saturated ahead of Tuesday's storms, Fox Weather reported.
As of early Wednesday, about 4,000 customers remained without power, mainly in Kankakee County, according to the Sun-Times. Kankakee Mayor Christopher Curtis said it will be several days before full power is restored. An estimated 70 poles were downed across Newton County, Indiana, ABC7 Chicago reported.
The National Weather Service said survey teams were dispatched Wednesday to assess storm damage and confirm the total number of tornadoes.