HOWE – Tin roofing was blown across a road and trees and downed limbs were everywhere in Howe this morning.

A line of severe thunderstorms punished the Howe area around 5 a-m taking down power lines and leaving the intersections on State Road 9 at State Road 120 and the entrance to the Toll Road without traffic signals.

At Howe Military, trees and limbs were down everywhere and the sound of chain saws working to clear driveways could be heard.

A school official said no one was injured and there was no structural damage. Two large trees just missed falling on the Howe Mansion. Another large tree lay against the rear of the St. James Chapel. A ventilation cover was on the ground behind the dining hall.

The winds toppled a tree in front of Lima-Brighton Elementary School in Howe, which closed for the day. Topeka Elementary was also closed due to a power outage.

LaGrange County’s 9-1-1 Center issued a rare call up of all firefighters in the county following the storms as first responders headed out to clear trees from roads and wait for power lines to be repaired.

NIPSCO at one point had 33,000 customers without power. That number stood at just under 20,000 by 11 a-m. 450 of those are in the Wolcottville area, and 538 in Howe. 427 NIPSCO customers in Topeka were still down.