(La Porte County, IN) - Tornadoes caused extensive damage throughout parts of northern Indiana last week but a home at a farm was left practically unscathed despite a twister passing within a stone’s throw from the residence.

 

Ed Malecki along with his wife and three children were huddled together in the basement of their home near LaCrosse during the Thursday night storms.

 

Malecki, who raises corn and soybeans, said he was at his door step for about five minutes watching the tornado coming in his direction from Kouts before he and his family went downstairs.

 

“It just kept coming directly toward us,” he said.

 

About two minutes later, they could tell the tornado was very close by the popping in their ears from the change in air pressure caused by the twister.  Malecki said things were pretty quiet except for a “little whistling of the wind” and sound of the house “creaking” just a bit as the tornado passed by.

 

Once their ears stopped popping, Malecki said he went upstairs and looked out a window to watch the departing tornado continue on to the east.

 

“It was pretty crazy,” he said.

 

An aerial photo clearly shows the tornado cut a path across Malecki’s farm field before passing within about 100 feet from the residence.  He said the only structure damage was from a board picked up by the winds impaling the side of the house.

 

There was extensive damage outside the home to his solar panels, irrigation system and a garage door along with his young corn and soybeans plants traveled over by the tornado.

 

A farming couple on the other side of his field, Alan and Majella Werner, were not so lucky.

 

“It took their whole farm.  Everything is gone,” Malecki said.

 

Malecki said he went over and assisted the man and woman out of their basement after receiving their text messages to come help.  Much of their house, grain silos and outbuildings like debris were blown into nearby fields.

 

“The whole house was just completely gone.  It was gone,” said La Porte County Emergency Management Coordinator Rob Sabie.

 

He said the Werners were not injured.

 

Aaron Hanna along with his wife and five children had their nearby house heavily damaged and farm animals killed by the same tornado.  Hanna said all but one of his 19 chickens along with a duck perished.

 

Three sheep and a steer his 10 year old son, Derek, shows in 4-H survived.

 

Hanna, a full-time truck driver, said they all took cover in the utility room of their basement as the tornado approached from the west.  He went back outside one more time to see where the tornado was and since it was still heading in their direction he returned to the basement as the twister passed seemingly between his house and shop, which are about 100 feet from each other.

 

“It just looked huge,” he said.

 

His semi-truck was moved about 25 feet from where he had parked it and was on its side.

 

Cass-Clinton Township Fire Chief Jeff Mitzner said well over a dozen homes were heavily damaged or destroyed by falling trees in the Wanatah area.  He didn’t see a tornado actually touch down but spotted multiple funnel clouds emerge from the sky at the same time while outside his home.

 

“We could see the tails coming down.  Up and down,” he said.