It was a wild night across Northwest Indiana as powerful storms ripped through the Region, leaving behind a trail of damage and a lot of shaken nerves.

Just after sunset, the first line of thunderstorms barreled in with intense lightning, sheets of rain, and wind gusts strong enough to snap branches and toss debris into roadways across a huge area including Lake, Porter, La Porte County to name a few. In LaPorte County, several neighborhoods briefly lost power as transformers blew and crews worked through the night to restore service. Reports also came in from Michigan City and Porter County of flooded intersections and downed trees blocking residential streets.

Emergency responders stayed busy, handling everything from stranded drivers to alarms triggered by the lightning. Despite the chaos, no major injuries were reported — a bit of good news after a long, loud night.

In LaPorte, crews responded to downed trees and scattered power outages. Michigan City saw street flooding along major intersections, while residents in Chesterton and Portage reported lightning strikes and transformers popping throughout the night.

Emergency crews stayed busy, but thankfully no major injuries were reported. This morning, cleanup is underway as calmer weather settles back over Northwest Indiana.

At this point NIPSCO is reporting 78,623 customers are without power. At this time, Kankakee Valley REMC says approximately 8,800 members are without power and are aware of transmission outages affecting two of their substations. For the latest outages and to stay updated on the most current outages across NW Indiana check out www.nipsco.com and www.kvremc.com on your mobile device. From the South Shore there is no service between South Bend and Michigan City. Crews continue to work between Michigan City and South Bend cleaning up after the storm damage. Please check back regularly for updates regarding service.