EF3 tornado in La Porte County, Indiana

A long-track tornado initially touched down near the intersection

of Grand Boulevard and Clay Street just east of Interstate 65 in

rural Lake County and continued northeastward into southern Porter

County just north of the Kankakee River. Damage near the beginning

of the path consisted of downed and uprooted trees. The tornado

appeared to increase in size and intensity after crossing US

Highway 231, damaging the walls and roofing of several homes near

W 1000 S just north of Breyfogel Ditch.

As the tornado continued northeastward, it further strengthened

and widened. The tornado reached its peak intensity of EF-3 from

just north of Kouts to just west of the Porter and LaPorte county

line. In this area, several homes were destroyed, and two separate

sets of high tension power trusses were sheared apart and

collapsed. There was significant scouring of the ground and damage

to crops in this region, as well. The tornado began to weaken as

it crossed into LaPorte County, where drone footage continued to

show swirl marks in fields as it tracked northeast and eventually

turned toward the north-northeast.

In La Porte county, a center pivot irrigation system was flipped

south of W 1600 S. The tornado took a quick turn to the left

as it began to weaken. Several residences were impacted along

S 1050 W with areas of snapped and uprooted trees. An attached

garage suffered damage as winds broke through a garage door

and blew out the back wall (east facing). The tornado lifted

shortly after impacting these residences. Although the track in StormData shows less than two miles, the curved track extended two and a half miles into La Porte county.

A squall line raced through northern Indiana and spawned numerous tornadoes. Most tornadoes were narrow and lasted less then 10 minutes. Additional areas of straight line wind damage were noted as well.