Severe weather that swept through Northwest Indiana on Sunday afternoon caused significant damage and led to a fatality in Valparaiso, as high winds and heavy rain battered the area.
Around 3 p.m., wind gusts exceeding 80 miles per hour hit the region, causing trees to fall and damaging homes. Julyann Sentoro and her family were inside their Valparaiso home when the storm’s fury struck. “My youngest daughter was shutting the front windows and that’s when I heard that fall,” Sentoro recalled. “Then we heard this other pine tree fall, and that’s when I was like ‘I think we need to get to the basement.’”
Sentoro’s family also assisted a couple whose motorcycle was stalled due to fallen branches. “Honestly, I think if there was a lesson, it’s just more about coming together as a community… whether you know each other or not,” she said.
In Valparaiso, a tractor-trailer was overturned at Pratt Industries by the strong winds around 4:15 p.m., resulting in the tragic death of 34-year-old Jagbir Singh of Canada.
In Highland, a large tree snapped in half, landing on a family’s roof. Fortunately, the family was not home, and no injuries were reported.
At the storm’s peak, power outages affected over 34,000 NIPSCO customers as power lines came down.
Cleanup efforts are now underway, with neighbors assessing the widespread damage and recovery expected to take several days.
March 2025 was an exceptionally active and severe storm season for Indiana, marked by a significant increase in tornado activity, heavy precipitation, and damaging winds.
The state experienced at least 14 confirmed tornadoes during March, a stark contrast to the average of 2-3 tornadoes typically observed in this month. This fivefold increase underscores the heightened severity of this year’s storm season.
