Friday Storm Wreaks Havoc Around County
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Aaron [email protected]
If you were in the area, however, you probably know that prediction gave way to a wild storm, which brought hellacious winds that downed trees and power lines throughout the county and left a wake of destruction and power outages behind it.
As of press time, Northern Indiana Public Service Co. still had 4,600 customers without power. Company spokesman Tom Stevens said NIPSCO expects the majority of those users to have power restored by midday today as crews work throughout the night. Some customers with significant storm damage may be without power until as late as Sunday, Stevens said.
NIPSCO reported 17,000 customers were without power at the peak, according to Stevens.
Kosciusko REMC, at last report, still has less than 200 customers without power, and crews with that company worked through the night to restore those homes and businesses. KREMC reported 3,000 outages at peak.
Residents waiting for power to come back on are likely looking at property with downed limbs and debris scattered as a result of the storm, which came into the region in a flash with high winds that ripped trees from the ground and split them in two.
Marcia Horton was not at her weekend lake-view home in the 1500 block of Park Avenue in Winona Lake when Friday’s storm battered her neighborhood and brought her neighbor’s 80-foot mature tree down onto her newly built front porch, demolishing it and the home’s entire front facade in a heap of leaves and splintered wood. Horton was at her regular home in Dearborn, Ohio, and was given the unfortunate news via telephone by the realtor who sold her the newly-renovated home, Marcia Anderson.
“She’s upset, but we’re saying, ‘Hey, what do you buy insurance for?’” said Anderson, who said the home was Horton’s dream home. “You can make it better than it was.”
Joann Wilcoxson has lived at her home on 105 5th St. in Winona Lake for 27 years. That home sustained serious damage Friday afternoon when a tree came through her home and destroyed her front porch.
“On the T.V. they gave a warning to get to an inside location or basement so I went to my basement. As soon as I got down there I heard glass breaking and something crumbling in the living room,” said Wilcoxson.
“I just thought, ‘thank you, Lord, for protecting me,” said Wilcoxson of narrowly avoiding the tree when it struck her home.
Wilcoxson’s daughter owns the home and Joann said she expects them to repair it.
She said she plans to stay with her son Brent until the home is fixed.
Several residents in Winona Lake reported seeing light, funnel-type clouds over the lake around the time the storm hit, though an official confirmation has not been made by the National Weather Service. On The Times-Union’s Facebook page, Mike Warren at Hank’s Tattoo in Warsaw posted a vivid video of what appears to be a funnel cloud near U.S. 30 and moving toward Winona Lake.
Regardless of official rulings, the area sustained widespread damage from high winds.[[In-content Ad]]Employees at the Warsaw Parks Department reported that lightning may have struck a soundboard on the Center Park stage. Country artist Neal McCoy was scheduled to perform Friday night.
That concert was canceled.
The park experienced flooding near the stage and strong winds blew over a 10-foot stack of amplifies.
The Parks Department had taken out insurance for the concert.
The roof at the old TTP building was reported to have come off as well as the roof at Warsaw Chemical. Pieces of Warsaw Chemical’s roof could be seen along Argonne Road and East Winona Avenue Friday afternoon.
Kosciusko County Emergency Dispatch also reported receiving a call that the roof at Whimet, North Detroit Street, Warsaw, came off and at least part of it landed on nearby railroad track. The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department fielded reports of several trees atop vehicles in Warsaw and Winona Lake, some including injuries, and several trees down in roadways and causing closures. The department also reported multiple trees and lines down in Oswego, North Webster, Camp Lucerne, Boggs addition and at Chapman Lake.
As the clean-up and recovery is underway, the National Weather Service is forecasting a 40-percent chance of thunderstorms today and a high of 91 degrees both today and Sunday.
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If you were in the area, however, you probably know that prediction gave way to a wild storm, which brought hellacious winds that downed trees and power lines throughout the county and left a wake of destruction and power outages behind it.
As of press time, Northern Indiana Public Service Co. still had 4,600 customers without power. Company spokesman Tom Stevens said NIPSCO expects the majority of those users to have power restored by midday today as crews work throughout the night. Some customers with significant storm damage may be without power until as late as Sunday, Stevens said.
NIPSCO reported 17,000 customers were without power at the peak, according to Stevens.
Kosciusko REMC, at last report, still has less than 200 customers without power, and crews with that company worked through the night to restore those homes and businesses. KREMC reported 3,000 outages at peak.
Residents waiting for power to come back on are likely looking at property with downed limbs and debris scattered as a result of the storm, which came into the region in a flash with high winds that ripped trees from the ground and split them in two.
Marcia Horton was not at her weekend lake-view home in the 1500 block of Park Avenue in Winona Lake when Friday’s storm battered her neighborhood and brought her neighbor’s 80-foot mature tree down onto her newly built front porch, demolishing it and the home’s entire front facade in a heap of leaves and splintered wood. Horton was at her regular home in Dearborn, Ohio, and was given the unfortunate news via telephone by the realtor who sold her the newly-renovated home, Marcia Anderson.
“She’s upset, but we’re saying, ‘Hey, what do you buy insurance for?’” said Anderson, who said the home was Horton’s dream home. “You can make it better than it was.”
Joann Wilcoxson has lived at her home on 105 5th St. in Winona Lake for 27 years. That home sustained serious damage Friday afternoon when a tree came through her home and destroyed her front porch.
“On the T.V. they gave a warning to get to an inside location or basement so I went to my basement. As soon as I got down there I heard glass breaking and something crumbling in the living room,” said Wilcoxson.
“I just thought, ‘thank you, Lord, for protecting me,” said Wilcoxson of narrowly avoiding the tree when it struck her home.
Wilcoxson’s daughter owns the home and Joann said she expects them to repair it.
She said she plans to stay with her son Brent until the home is fixed.
Several residents in Winona Lake reported seeing light, funnel-type clouds over the lake around the time the storm hit, though an official confirmation has not been made by the National Weather Service. On The Times-Union’s Facebook page, Mike Warren at Hank’s Tattoo in Warsaw posted a vivid video of what appears to be a funnel cloud near U.S. 30 and moving toward Winona Lake.
Regardless of official rulings, the area sustained widespread damage from high winds.[[In-content Ad]]Employees at the Warsaw Parks Department reported that lightning may have struck a soundboard on the Center Park stage. Country artist Neal McCoy was scheduled to perform Friday night.
That concert was canceled.
The park experienced flooding near the stage and strong winds blew over a 10-foot stack of amplifies.
The Parks Department had taken out insurance for the concert.
The roof at the old TTP building was reported to have come off as well as the roof at Warsaw Chemical. Pieces of Warsaw Chemical’s roof could be seen along Argonne Road and East Winona Avenue Friday afternoon.
Kosciusko County Emergency Dispatch also reported receiving a call that the roof at Whimet, North Detroit Street, Warsaw, came off and at least part of it landed on nearby railroad track. The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department fielded reports of several trees atop vehicles in Warsaw and Winona Lake, some including injuries, and several trees down in roadways and causing closures. The department also reported multiple trees and lines down in Oswego, North Webster, Camp Lucerne, Boggs addition and at Chapman Lake.
As the clean-up and recovery is underway, the National Weather Service is forecasting a 40-percent chance of thunderstorms today and a high of 91 degrees both today and Sunday.
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