Tornado kills 2 in Indiana as dangerous storms make their final push

By CNN meteorologists Chris Dolce, Mary Gilbert, and CNN’s Hanna Park, Holly Yan, and Rebekah Riess

(CNN) — At least three people are dead after a multi-day rash of dangerous storms in the central and eastern US that produced several tornadoes, destructive giant hail and winds across more than 20 states.

The final round of storms barreled across the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Georgia and South Carolina Wednesday evening into early Thursday.

One person was killed and three others injured when severe storms ripped through Lawrence County, Mississippi, Wednesday night, according to a preliminary report from Mississippi Emergency Management.

Across the South, high winds and multiple radar-confirmed tornadoes downed trees and power lines overnight, knocking out power to more than 140,000 customers, according to PowerOutage.us

Storms are finally losing their steam over the Southeast, but destructive winds and isolated tornadoes are still possible in the Carolinas until early afternoon.

Here’s the latest:

• Tornado kills two: A married couple in their 80s died in Lake Village, Indiana, 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: Over 30 tornadoes have been reported since Tuesday in seven states: Texas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Arkansas, Louisiana and Georgia. A long-lasting supercell spawned multiple tornadoes as it tracked across Illinois and Indiana, including one that ripped through Kankakee and Aroma Park, Illinois, causing damage to several homes and buildings there. This twister was preliminarily given an EF-3 rating by the National Weather Service in Central Illinois. Several people were injured, but no one died, Kankakee’s mayor said.
• 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, a small town in northwest Indiana, was one of the places in the Midwest hit hardest by the tornado.

“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.

The Newton County Coroner’s Office on Wednesday said Edward L. Kozlowski, 89, and his wife, Arlene Kozlowski, 84, were killed as the powerful tornado tore through the area.

Coroners preliminarily determined the couple’s cause of death to be “multiple blunt force trauma,” and an autopsy has been scheduled for Friday.

The Kozlowskis were found by a relative in the yard behind their house, Arlene’s sister told CNN affiliate WLS.

“This is devastating,” Christine Kwintera said, sharing that her sister and brother-in-law had lived there for decades and were enjoying a quiet life post-retirement.

“She was good to everyone, all the kids,” Kwintera said, breaking down in tears as she described her sister. “She was a good person.”

“They were wonderful, just really wonderful human beings,” the couple’s son-in-law Steve Rehfeldt told CNN affiliate WBBM. “You know, tough old guy and sweet old lady.”

The Kozlowskis left behind four children, seven grandchildren and great-grandchildren, WBBM reported.

“[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. Behind him, the tornado appeared to have reduced at least one home to rubble.

Fire department crews searched hundreds of homes in the dark and under dangerous conditions to look for survivors in the tornado’s aftermath, Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield said.

One survivor, Steven Travis, told WBBM he was at home when the storm barrelled down his street. He said the ceiling started coming down as the roof over his bedroom was lifted off.

“I climbed into the closet, and that’s where I came out and debris was everywhere,” he said. “I mean, the place was destroyed.”

At least 100 structures were damaged as of Wednesday’s count, including 32 destroyed, Fifield said. Those numbers are expected to rise, as many more homes have been damaged, he added.

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.

First responders, state and local officials, and the American Red Cross were providing immediate support to communities, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said in a post on X Wednesday morning. “Maureen and I are praying for the families who lost loved ones and for every Hoosier impacted by the devastating tornadoes,” Braun said.

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.

Jim Horchem saw the tornado as it approached his neighborhood in Kankakee County. “I thought, geez, that’s a tornado. It’s coming, it’s coming, it’s coming. And … everything goes into slow motion,” Horchem told CorClips journalist Jonathan Petramala.

Horchem and his family hid from the tornado inside a bathtub. As he watched water seep under the bathroom door, Horchem thought his home was already torn open. “I really thought, ‘This is it, we’re going to die.’”

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.

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CNN Meteorologists Briana Waxman and CNN’s Diego Mendoza and Karina Tsui contributed to this report.