Pre-dawn storms knock out power to thousands, close schools
EVANSVILLE – A line of storms ripped through the Tri-State before dawn Tuesday, knocking over trees, damaging homes and causing some schools to close.
The weather sparked nearly continuous tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings as it worked its way from Southern Illinois across the Wabash River into Southwestern Indiana and Western Kentucky between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m.
There were no immediate reports of injuries in Vanderburgh County, according to Sheriff Noah Robinson.
As of mid-morning, CenterPoint Energy was reporting that nearly 22,000 of its customers in Southwestern Indiana were without power because of storm damage. Several hundred outages were reported by Kenergy in Western Kentucky, as well.
The damage was scattered but readily apparent early Monday after National Weather Service forecasters rightly predicted that severe weather would slam the Tri-State Area with "damaging winds, tornadoes and large hail."
In Vanderburgh County, northern areas near McCutchanville, Darmstadt and Melody Hills seemed to take the brunt of the storm. And while a small aircraft managed to weave through storm clouds to land at Evansville Regional Airport just after 7 a.m., the surrounding area lost power, leaving whole neighborhoods dark.
Stoplights also went out, slowing traffic to a crawl on U.S. 41 at several intersections. The Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office asked that residents avoid "unnecessary travel and stay off the roads until further notice" in a social media post.
The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. announced it had canceled classes for the day after initially issuing a two-hour delay. Evansville's Catholic schools also closed, as did Evansville Christian School. Warrick County schools also closed. Most school systems in Southwestern Indiana observed at least a two-hour delay.
North of Evansville, damage was reported at a Super 8 hotel near the intersection of U.S. 41 and Interstate 64. A nearby storage building on Ruffian Way was destroyed. Tree tops were torn off near homes along Baseline Road between U.S. 41 and Indiana 57.
Trees and utility poles were also knocked over in neighboring Posey and Warrick counties. The weather service noted that winds with one storm, near the Warrick County town of Tennyson, storm winds were expected to approach 100 mph. Other severe thunderstorm warnings issued Tuesday morning mentioned the possibility of 80 mph winds.
National Weather Service officials were unable to say whether the damage in the Evansville area was from straight-line winds or tornadoes, though one meteorologist at the agency said there was a "decent chance there was both."
More storms are possible Tuesday as a cold front works its way through the region. The Evansville area is in a "slight risk" zone for severe weather, while areas just to the east of the city are in an "enhanced risk" zone.
That also likely will delay any National Weather Service damage surveys in the area for a day.
List of school cancelations or delays in the Evansville area
EVSC, closed
Evansville Christian School, closed
Evansville Catholic schools, closed
Warrick County School Corp., closed
MSD of North Posey County, closed
North Gibson School Corp., closed
Signature School, two-hour delay
Evansville Day School, two-hour delay
MSD of Mount Vernon, two-hour delay
East Gibson School, two-hour delay
South Gibson School, two-hour delay
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Storms winds cause damage; EVSC schools closed Tuesday
