Jimmy Crittenden clears tree limbs from his home in Hammond

Northwest Indiana blindsided by storms

Contributed By: Jonathan Bradford and The 411 News Staff

Severe thunderstorm warnings went off the night of July 15th as strong winds and rain downed trees and power lines throughout northwest Indiana. Overnight, the storm caused one fatality and left 150,000 Indiana residents and businesses without power.

Three days later, NIPSCO’s Mobile Customer Care Unit had set up in the parking lot of Anthem Church in Hammond to offer support and answer questions for customers who remained without power.

Jimmy Crittenden, a resident of the Hammond Historic District was in his yard Tuesday, a day after the storm, cutting up fallen tree limbs. One of the limbs had put a hole in his roof.

“Thankfully, I have insurance. The storm was a total surprise,” said Crittenden. “I moved to this area 25 years ago and things were different back then including the weather, less violent and damage.”

Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) reported more than 100,000 customers lost power at the height of the storm.

“All available crews were working to make necessary repairs to restore power as safely and quickly as possible,” NIPSCO's website stated. The day after the storm, the utility company advised that some customers would not get power restored until Friday, July 19.

The cities that were affected the most were Gary, Griffith, Hammond, La Porte, and Valparaiso.

Asia Sizemore, a 2-year resident of the Hammond area said, “We didn’t have any power and lost all our food. I had to clean out my freezer and refrigerator. I don’t feel like we were prepared in enough time; we didn’t receive alerts. We heard about Florida and Texas getting hit, but we got no notification this was coming until it was too late.”

“Out of nowhere, we had to wake up our kids in the middle of the night and sprint to safety downstairs, not knowing how serious the storm was," says Sizemore.

Laura Nagel, 44 years old of Cedar Lake, was in the bedroom of her home when the storm pushed a tree onto the house, killing her.


Laura Nagel

Cedar Lake Police Chief William Fisher said that police and firefighters responded to a 911 call, around 10pm, to a heavily wooded area located at 8902 W. 141st Lane, where a large tree fell on the home.

Fisher said, “Wind gusts were blowing at nearly 80 mph. Firefighters arrived on the scene to see a puncture in the roof of the house and Nagel pinned inside.” The Lake County Coroner attributed her death to the severe storm.

Tornados usually don’t touch ground in this Indiana region. The National Weather Service described Monday night’s storms as a “derecho” – a band of thunderstorms accompanied by very high winds moving in a straight line. The Chicago office of the NWS reported multiple tornadoes were embedded in the derecho.

Restoration of power is still ongoing in some areas. Residents might be eligible for Indiana’s State Disaster Relief Fund that provides funding to recover from disasters and weather events.

Residents can call the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) and report severe damage from the July 15 storm.

Story Posted:07/19/2024