6-inch hail in Illinois tornadic storm may be a state record

Major storms whipped up tornadoes that killed at least two people in northwest Indiana and leveled buildings in Kankakee, Illinois.

Several intense supercell thunderstorms moved across northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana the previous day, including one responsible for at least four tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service office in Chicago.

The Newton County Coroner’s office said Edward L. Kozlowski, 89, and his wife Arlene Kozlowski, 84, were killed when a tornado struck their home in Lake Village in northwestern Indiana. The couple appeared to have been killed by blunt force trauma, the coroner’s office said, and an autopsy was scheduled for Friday.

The storms shattered windows, tore off roofs and smashed vehicles in Kankakee. Wood planks and other debris littered yards, streets and parking lots. A landscape and garden center was seriously damaged.

In Lake Village, where the Kozlowskis died, crews rescued some people who were trapped in damaged homes. At least 70 utility poles were knocked down and many roads were rendered unpassable.

Lake Village is about 60 miles southeast of Chicago and 25 miles east of Kankakee.

In Kankakee, the storms produced exceptionally large hail, ranging from 3 to 5 inches in diameter. One 6-inch hailstone may have set a new state record, the weather service said.

Accuweather.com meteorologist Tony Laubach was on the scene and posted a video of giant hailstones littered across the ground, leaving indentations in the turf and smashing dozens of exposed car windshields.

Nine people in the county had minor injuries, officials said at a news conference. Kevin Birk, a meteorologist in the NWS Chicago office, confirmed at least one tornado touched down in the area.


Photo: screenshot from video by Accuweather.com meteorologist Tony Laubach