Strong storms bring 100 mph wind gusts
WEST LAFAYETTE (WLFI) – A strong summer storm brought hurricane force winds and heavy rains to northern Indiana over night Wednesday.
Wednesday evening started with the National Weather Service issuing tornado watches for most of north central Indiana. The storms developed in Illinois and moved east causing several severe thunderstorm warnings to be issued for the viewing area.
Two waves of storms caused widespread wind damage across the viewing area. Precision 18 Radar showed estimated wind gusts exceeding 100 mph, which were backed up by a measured wind gust of 100 mph in Battle Ground reported by amateur radio.
Crews responded to reports of trees and power lines down causing power outages across the viewing area.
A tower was torn from the ground in Russuaville and fell across several unoccupied campers.State Road 43 was closed in Brookston as officials dealt with downed power lines and limbs covered most of the road through town.