Damaging tornadoes move through Midwest, as officials in Indiana try to confirm deaths

MADISON, Ind. -- Authorities in Indiana said they were working to confirm reports of fatalities from a tornado that was part of storm system that also unleashed suspected twisters in parts of Ohio and Kentucky on Thursday, damaging homes and businesses.

Storm damage in Indiana was reported in the east central city of Winchester, according to Indiana State Police, who said they were working to confirm the deaths that had been reported to them.

Joseph Nield, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis, said it was highly likely a tornado caused significant damage in the Winchester area, based on radar data and reports from storm spotters and local officials.

"It appears that is the most significant damage that we've had reported to us," he said.

A Facebook post on the Winchester Community High School page said all the schools in that school district would be closed on Friday. Another post said the high school had electricity and was open for emergency use for people who "need somewhere warm and dry."

Forecasters were also aware of damage in the Lakeview, Ohio, area and across the region and plan to survey the area Friday to confirm the tornado, said Scott Hickman, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio.

A number of buildings in Lakeview were destroyed, Amber Fagan, the president and CEO of the Indian Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, told ABC 6 news.

"It's pure devastation," she said. "I have never seen anything like this in my entire life. "Our Lakeview municipal building is demolished. Our laundromat is gone. The old plastics building is just completely demolished. Downtown, it's bad."

A spokesperson for Logan County's Emergency Management Agency confirmed the tornado. She said there were no confirmed reports of fatalities or injuries. Lakeview is in Logan County.

"We had a tornado strike here in Logan County. There is damage, it is still being assessed. We do have people on the ground, doing that work," the spokesperson said, hanging up before spelling out her name to a reporter.

Earlier, storms damaged homes and trailers in the Ohio River communities of Hanover and Lamb in Indiana.

Jefferson County Sheriff Ben Flint said storms destroyed three or four single-family homes and four or five other structures and demolished several uninhabited campers along the river.

"We were fortunate that no one was injured," Flint told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Sgt. Stephen Wheeles of the Indiana State Police said a suspected tornado struck Jefferson County, damaging several homes and downing trees and power lines.

He posted photos on X, formerly known as Twitter, showing one home with its roof torn off and another missing roof shingles as well as an image of a baseball-sized hailstone.

Around 2,000 Duke Energy customers in Hanover lost power at one point during the storms, the company reported.

In Kentucky, Trimble County Emergency Management Director Andrew Stark said the storms damaged at least 50 structures, including homes.

"We have a whole bunch of damage," Stark told the Courier Journal of Louisville.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear issued a statement saying a tornado touched down along the Indiana state border in Gallatin and Trimble counties and there were reports of a couple of minor injuries. He urged Kentuckians to stay aware of the weather as more storms were expected across the state Thursday evening and overnight.

"It does appear that there is some really significant damage, especially to the town of Milton in Trimble County," Beshear said. "We think there are over 100 structures that are potentially damaged."

The state's emergency operations center was activated to coordinate storm response, Beshear said.

Large pieces of hail also was reported in parts of the St. Louis area this afternoon.

There were unconfirmed reports of tornadoes in Jefferson County, Missouri, and Monroe County, Illinois, but no immediate reports of damage.

Severe weather was possible into Thursday night from northeast Texas to Indiana and Ohio, the National Weather Service said on X. It issued a tornado watch for parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas and Missouri until 9 p.m. Central Daylight Time.