Violent Storm Rips CountyWednesday night strong storms packing violent winds moved through Warsaw and Kosciusko County as evidenced by the widespread damage seen this morning.
Large trees were knocked down and branches snapped off and strung through several yards on Hitzler Street near the Pike Lake Pointe Apartments.
Numerous houses on Harrison Street near Kosciusko Community Hospital had large limbs down, and traffic was being diverted from the area to expedite cleanup.
A portion of the roof was blown off Warsaw Foundry on North Detroit Street.
A 40- by 200-foot outbuilding on Rick Blue's property at Fox Farm Road and CR 200W was destroyed during the storm.
This morning Blue said winds lifted the building up and flipped portions of it 70 feet from its foundation. Tons of debris from the building littered a bean field up to 300 yards away.
The debris included eight-foot sections of the building's walls - complete with studs and metal siding, Blue said. A truck on Blue's property was overturned.
Blue talked to WSBT-TV meteorolgist Carrie Peugeot this morning and she suggested he call the National Weather Service. A NWS representative visited Blue's property and photographed the scene late this morning.
While the evidence was not immediately conclusive, the NWS representative told Blue it was possible the damage was caused by a tornado.
A tree also reportedly fell on a house near Beaver Dam lake.
Thousands of Warsaw and Kosciusko County residents were without electricity during and immediately after the storm, but most power had been restored late this morning.
Mike Sabones, meteorologist in charge, said the National Weather Service is still studying the damage from Wednesday night's storm to see if there may have been a tornado.
Crews are stretched thin, investigating the damage from Michigan and Indiana to Ohio.
Specific local areas being checked out include Fox Farm Road and the area between Center and Pike lakes.
"What I always find interesting is people don't take severe storms serious enough. They don't think they have to worry about it unless it's a tornado. What the storm last night and Friday night showed was how much damage severe storms can do," Sabones said.
The storm last night and Friday night both definitely produced strong winds, with last night's storm having winds of at least 80 miles per hour. The strong winds lasted several minutes at a time, 5 to 10 minutes, he said.
"The winds were as strong as any tornado we might have had," he said.
While 5 to 10 minutes might not seem like a long time, Sabones said strong winds for that length of time can cause severe damage.
The severe storm was identified in Iowa, and it marched into Illinois and Indiana before moving into Ohio, he said.
The strong winds were followed by a lingering rain. Sabones said the area received .78 inches of precipitation.
Sabones said people can check reports from the weather service online at http://www.weather.gov/iwx
