Powerful storms swept across the US Midwest on Tuesday, killing at least three people and leaving nearly 800,000 customers without electricity across Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. The National Weather Service confirmed multiple tornadoes near Chicago and recorded straight-line winds of 99 mph in Gary, Indiana.
A four-year-old boy was killed when a tree fell on his home in Indiana's Jennings County, and a person died in a suspected weather-related house explosion in Portage, Indiana. In Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine confirmed a death in Roseville where floodwaters prevented rescue crews from reaching the victim. Sixteen inmates at a Grafton, Ohio, prison were hospitalized after a lightning strike.
DeWine declared a state of emergency in Perry and Muskingum counties. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther warned that power outages could last several days, while American Electric Power deployed over 2,000 workers to restore service.