Tornadoes hit Indiana, Illinois as destructive storms blast through parts of Midwest

Destructive storms blasting through parts of the Midwest spawned tornadoes that hit Indiana and Illinois, as near-hurricane force winds swept parts of the region.

A violent tornado ripped through southeastern Illinois on Thursday, shredding homes, overturning cars and leaving a trail of destruction that stretched at least six miles long. At least a dozen buildings were destroyed.

Powerful wind mangled mobile homes and flipped them upside down. One woman was trapped inside until rescue crews could reach her.

That same twister then barreled across the Indiana state line.  

Another powerful tornado ripped through Bloomington, Indiana, on Thursday, as severe thunderstorms and 70 mile per hour wind gusts hammered the city that’s home to around 80,000 people. It toppled trees and power lines, peeled roofs off of buildings and destroyed a bank in a normally-busy shopping district.

Parts of the bank’s roof caved in and the facade was shredded. 

The twisters were part of a massive winter weather system that sprawled 1,000 miles across the country from Ohio to Nebraska, where it brought nearly a foot of snow and whiteout conditions to Omaha. Conditions were dangerous on the roads across the state.

On Friday, a wind advisory from the National Weather Service was in effect for parts of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. 

“Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects,” the weather service warned. “Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.”

The weather service in Indianapolis said westerly winds will frequently gust up to 45 mph across, with the strongest gusts hitting in the morning hours.