(La Porte County, IN) - There were tornadoes last night in northwest Indiana including the southern part of La Porte County.

 

La Porte resident Bob Wellinski was out during the storm in the area of 500 West and 400 South when marbled-sized hail began coming down.  He was just a few miles north from where much of the damage occurred in the area of 1600 South and 1050 West where multiple funnel clouds were spotted in the sky.

 

“We could see the tails coming down.  Up and down,” said Cass-Clinton Township Fire Chief Jeff Mitzner.

 

He said over a dozen homes in the Wanatah area suffered major damage from large trees falling.

 

“Big trees going through the roof,” he said.

 

According to NIPSCO, there were fewer than 30 customers still without power in the Wanatah area at 8:30 a.m.  Over 400 customers in NIPSCO’s La Porte service territory and more than 1,300 customers in the Michigan City area were still without service.

 

La Porte County Commissioner Steve Holifield said county highway crews have been out in southern areas of the county during the night and this morning clearing roads of fallen trees and limbs.

 

“The tree damage down south is terrible,” he said.

 

Mitzner is asking the general public not to drive through the Wanatah area to look at the storm damage out of respect for the homeowners and to give crews space to address fallen trees and power lines.

 

“In a situation like this, if you’re not going to help us, just stay away,” he said.

 

There are also pictures of a tornado touchdown in the LaCrosse area.