Damage Consistent With Tornado Reported In Lowell, Indiana
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Damage consistent with a tornado was reported Thursday in Lowell, Ind., as a wave of powerful, fast-moving storms swept through Chicagoland.
The damage includes downed power lines and 30- to 40-foot tall pine trees. The portion of the roof at the First of the Nazerene was completely torn away. A fence and the church garage were heavily damaged.
"My mind was trying to process what I was looking at," said Pastor David Brock. "It was pretty shocking to come home to. It's pretty devastating."
Jared Brock was at their home, which began to shake violently.
"The entire house started to shake and I started to panic a little bit," he said. "I could hear things rattling. It was really weird."
A tree fell on another home nearby, crushing the roof. "I don't even know where that tree came from," said the homeowner Madonna Snyder.
"The trees are down, the power lines are down. From what I heard, there was golf-ball sized hail. My nephew's truck almost overturned at he was driving past. He said it looked like a tornado."
About a mile away, fencing was damaged at another home, and deck furniture was tossed about the yard. A shed was lifted off its foundation and the pool was damaged.
According to a National Weather Service storm report, a funnel cloud was reported south of downtown.
Matt Magiera posted this image of a possible funnel cloud in the area.
Funnel near lowell IN about 15 mins ago. Did touch down briefly and had a horizontal vortex. Observed tree damage northeast of lowell. Better pics on camera via @weathershan coming later. @NWSChicago I'll have a better location in a moment. pic.twitter.com/3aMHmmdCoX
— Matt Magiera (@mattmwx) March 14, 2019
A resident took this picture of trees fallen on Calhoun Road, just north of Belshaw.
The damage path appears to be about 250 yards wide, according to the NWS storm report.
Officials with the weather service still need to assess the damage to determine whether it was actually caused by a tornado.