Tornado Central

Deadly Storm Outbreak Slams Multiple States With Destructive Tornadoes And Hail

Tens of thousands of people across the Midwest and Plains are without power after tornadoes leveled homes and buildings Tuesday night. Here’s the latest.

Massive Tornado Tears Through Kankakee, Illinois

A severe weather outbreak packed with major tornadoes and destructive hail has left a trail of devastation across the Plains, Midwest and the South. We expect to get a fuller scope of the damage Wednesday, as daylight reveals more and communities begin to survey their neighborhoods.

Tornadoes have been confirmed in Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.

Two deaths have been confirmed in the Lake Village community in Indiana.

"We began going to where there was obvious damage, and we did locate some very injured people and two fatalities," Lori Postma, a spokesman for the Lake Township Volunteer Fire Department, said during a new conference. She added that fewer than 10 people were hurt in the storm.

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At least four twisters that tore across Illinois and Indiana were spawned by the same supercell. Weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman says that same supercell produced severe weather over 121 miles for nearly 4.5 hours.

It also spit out massive hail that may break an Illinois state record, with a weather spotter capturing one hail stone 6 inches in diameter.

More than 40,000 customers were without power early Wednesday. PowerOutage.us reports that the bulk of the outages are in Texas.

One of the hardest hit areas appears to be Kankakee, Illinois, about 57 miles south of Chicago. Emergency crews there spent the night searching through rubble for possible victims.

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

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a post on the social platform X that he had been briefed on the storm and tornado damage. “Keeping in our thoughts all Illinoisans impacted by the severe weather — we’ll be here to help them recover,” he said.

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In a video posted on Facebook the Newton County Sheriff’s Office said Lake Village, Indiana, took a “direct hit” and multiple homes were destroyed. A local high school was opened as a shelter overnight and officials asked people to stay away from the area.

Indiana State Police Cpl. Eric Rot said people had been injured. He wasn't able to provide an exact number or their conditions.

Additional tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail are all possible Wednesday as the severe storm threat moves into the Appalachians and interior Northeast to the lower Mississippi Valley. See our complete forecast here.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.