The National Weather Service has confirmed that an EF-1 tornado struck Cedar Lake during a rash of violent storms that swept through the region early Saturday, damaging around 20 homes and multiple businesses, though officials report that no one was injured.
The weather service also said that a less-powerful EF-0 tornado struck Merrillville and Schererville.
“It is possible that there were additional brief tornadoes that occurred within these straight-line wind corridors, but at this time, we do not have enough evidence to be able to make that conclusion,” the weather service’s Chicago office said in a Facebook post.
Officials with the Cedar Lake Fire Department said on Facebook that no injuries were reported as a result of the tornado, which touched down in parts of Cedar Lake just after 1 a.m. Saturday.
Fire officials said an estimated 20 homes sustained damage and three homes had excessive damage. Multiple businesses along the 133rd Avenue corridor also were damaged.
Multiple trees, power lines and fences also were down on the west side of town, in the “Cook” residential area east of Wicker Avenue and south of 133rd Avenue, fire officials said.
A tornado also struck Cedar Lake on July 15, when high winds knocked a tree over onto a house, killing a woman who was sleeping inside. That was one of two tornados, along with heavy winds, that came through the region at the time.
