EF3 Tornado Cuts 36-Mile Path From Illinois Into Indiana, Killing Three; Record Hail Under Review

The storm rolled in on a Tuesday evening like so many others in late winter: darkening skies over flat fields, a rumble of thunder, curtains of rain sweeping across the Kankakee River. Within minutes, it had turned into something far more dangerous — a long‑lived supercell that hurled giant hailstones into neighborhoods and then carved a 36‑mile scar across Illinois and Indiana, killing three people and flattening homes in its path.

By the time the tornado lifted just west of DeMotte, Indiana, on the night of March 10, an EF3 twister with estimated winds near 150 mph had torn through southern Kankakee County, Illinois, crossed the state line into rural northwest Indiana and left hundreds of buildings damaged or destroyed. The same storm dropped hail reported at up to 6 inches in diameter, which may set a new Illinois state record if it is confirmed by weather officials.

A review of damage surveys, official statements and resident accounts shows a fast‑moving disaster that played out almost entirely in small communities just beyond the southern edge of the Chicago metropolitan area — places with volunteer fire departments, modest tax bases and homes more vulnerable to violent winds.

A 36-mile track across two states

The National Weather Service office in Chicago has rated the tornado EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale. Surveyors say it first touched down around 6:20 p.m. CDT near the Kankakee County Fairgrounds, just south of the city of Kankakee, then tracked east‑southeast through the south side of town and the village of Aroma Park before crossing into Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana.

On the Illinois side, the twister tore into a commercial corridor on Kankakee’s south side, shredding metal buildings and blowing out storefront windows. At Tholens’ Landscape & Garden Center, a 50‑year‑old family business that depends on spring sales, multiple greenhouses and outbuildings were heavily damaged or destroyed.

“This is our 50th year in business, and this was not how we planned to kick off our spring,” owner Nancy Tholen said as she surveyed twisted frames and scattered pots. “We make our living in the next 12 weeks.”

The tornado then crossed the Kankakee River into Aroma Park, a village of fewer than 700 people where many houses sit under mature trees and aboveground power lines. There, survey teams documented extensive structural damage, including at least one home described as completely destroyed. Local officials reported at least one death in the community.

Village trustee and restaurateur Kathleen Slavin said residents first noticed the hail.

“It was baseball‑sized, just pounding everything,” she said. “We’ve got trees over a hundred years old uprooted and power lines down all over town.”

County officials said at least nine people in Kankakee County suffered minor injuries. More than 7,000 customers lost electricity in the immediate aftermath.

As the storm crossed into Indiana, the tornado maintained its strength over open fields before slamming into Lake Village, an unincorporated community in Newton County, and then brushing the northern edge of Roselawn in neighboring Jasper County.

In Lake Village, houses were reduced to piles of lumber, vehicles were flipped and businesses along the main road were left in ruins. A Family Dollar store and a gas station were among the commercial buildings heavily damaged or destroyed.

Paramedic David Ferris, who lives in Lake Village, said he and his wife took shelter in their bathtub when they heard the roar outside.

“It sounded like a freight train, but you hear that all the time,” he said. “This time it really was.”

When the wind eased, he grabbed his gear and went out to help. One of the first people he reached, he said, was a man who had crawled out of the remains of his home.

“He was covered in insulation, barely breathing,” Ferris said. “There were power lines and debris everywhere. You couldn’t even see where some of the houses used to be.”

The Newton County coroner identified the two Indiana fatalities as Edward L. Kozlowski, 89, and his wife, Arlene, 84, who were killed when the tornado destroyed their home in Lake Village. Authorities said they appeared to have died of blunt force trauma.

“They were really wonderful human beings,” a relative said in an interview with local reporters.

Laurie Postma, a spokesperson for the Lake Township Volunteer Fire Department, said fewer than 10 people in Lake Village were injured but cautioned that search and rescue operations continued into the following day.

Standing in front of wrecked homes, Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran urged outsiders to stay out of the area until emergency crews could finish checking for survivors.

“Please do not come here. Do not try to help right now,” Cothran said. “We have line crews, we have heavy equipment, and we need to keep the roads clear.”

The National Weather Service estimates the tornado reached a maximum width of about 1,000 yards — more than half a mile — along its 36.4‑mile path. It was on the ground for roughly an hour and 20 minutes.

Giant hail and a possible state record

Even before the tornado touched down, the supercell was notable for what it was throwing out of the clouds over Kankakee County: exceptionally large hail.

Residents and storm chasers reported stones 3 to 5 inches in diameter across parts of the county. Photos posted online and shared with meteorologists show jagged white chunks the size of baseballs and grapefruits, cracking windshields and punching holes through siding and roof shingles.

At least one hailstone, collected in or near Kankakee, has been measured at roughly 5¼ to 6 inches across, according to preliminary reports. If confirmed, it would surpass the current official Illinois record of 4.75 inches, set near Minooka on June 10, 2015.

The weather service said the candidate hailstone is under review by the Illinois State Climate Extremes Committee, which verifies records using physical measurements, photos, witness accounts and radar data. Officials emphasized that the March 10 stone has not yet been certified as a record and that the investigation could take weeks.

Warnings issued, questions remain

The severe weather did not come without warning. Earlier on March 10, the Storm Prediction Center issued a Level 4 out of 5 “moderate risk” for severe storms over parts of central and eastern Illinois and northwest Indiana, highlighting the potential for strong tornadoes, damaging winds and very large hail.

By mid‑afternoon, the National Weather Service had placed Kankakee, Newton and Jasper counties under a tornado watch that remained in effect through the evening. Tornado warnings were issued as the supercell intensified.

Even so, some residents said they were surprised by the speed and ferocity of the storm, and social media posts in the region reflected confusion about watch boundaries and whether outdoor warning sirens had sounded in every community. Local emergency management officials said those issues would be reviewed in the coming days.

What fueled the outbreak

Meteorologists say the environment on March 10 was primed for severe weather. A warm front lifting north across Illinois, combined with a lake breeze from Lake Michigan, created a zone of wind shear and low cloud bases. Temperatures and humidity surged, pushing instability — known as convective available potential energy, or CAPE — into the 2,000 to 3,000 joules per kilogram range in some areas, levels favorable for supercell thunderstorms.

The outbreak was part of a broader pattern of early‑season storms. The March 10 to 12 period produced dozens of tornadoes across the Midwest and Southern Plains, and it followed another multi‑day outbreak that struck parts of Oklahoma and Michigan the week before.

Climate researchers have noted that warmer, wetter springs can increase the likelihood of the kind of volatile air masses that feed severe thunderstorms and large hail. Attributing any single tornado or hail event directly to climate change, however, typically requires formal study.

Recovery begins in small communities

For the communities hit along the Illinois‑Indiana line, the focus now is on clearing debris, restoring power and figuring out how to rebuild.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he had been briefed on the damage in Kankakee County and expressed support for those affected, saying in a statement that the state would “be here to help them recover.” Local officials in both states are assessing structural damage counts and considering whether to seek state or federal disaster declarations.

In places like Aroma Park, Lake Village and Roselawn, those decisions will shape how quickly residents can repair roofs, replace lost homes and reopen small businesses. Many rely on volunteer fire and rescue squads, faith‑based groups and neighbors for immediate help, and they face long waits for insurance adjusters and building materials.

Tholen, the garden center owner in Kankakee, said she was grateful that her employees made it through the storm unhurt. Standing amid broken glass and mangled greenhouse frames, she was already thinking about how to get back open before planting season ends.

“Everybody’s safe, so we’re thankful for that,” she said. “We’ve just got a lot of work ahead of us.”