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By Hollie Silverman and Anna Skinner
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More than 880,000 customers were without electricity across the Midwest on Tuesday as severe storms swept through parts of the Midwest, triggering tornado warnings and reports of destructive winds.
According to PowerOutage.us, 880,232 customers were without power nationwide as of Tuesday afternoon, with Illinois, Indiana and Ohio accounting for the vast majority of outages.
The outages came as a powerful line of storms moved across the Great Lakes region, prompting tornado warnings and concerns about damaging winds capable of downing trees and power lines. The severe weather disrupted electricity service for hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses and raised concerns about additional infrastructure damage as storms continued eastward. Illinois reported 293,952 customers without power, followed by Indiana with 291,643 and Ohio with 178,820.
Read More on Weather
The storm threat is expected to persist across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic through this week.
"While we don't think that the thunderstorm complexes will quite reach the intensity and distance of derechos, there can be significant damage in some communities where the storms intensify," AccuWeather Expert Meteorologist Adam Douty said in a report. "Straight-line wind gusts produced during the most intense storms can knock over trees and cause regional power outages."
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Tornado Warning: What We Know
A tornado warning remained in effect Tuesday afternoon for parts of northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan, including Elkhart, St. Joseph, Kosciusko and Marshall counties in Indiana and Cass and Berrien counties in Michigan.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said a severe squall line capable of producing tornadoes and "extensive straight-line wind damage" was moving east at 60 mph.
Meteorologists warned of wind gusts exceeding 90 mph and radar-indicated rotation within the storm system. Communities in the warning area included South Bend, Elkhart, Mishawaka, Goshen, Warsaw, Niles, Benton Harbor and Plymouth.
The weather service warned that flying debris would be dangerous to anyone caught outdoors and said mobile homes could be damaged or destroyed. Officials urged residents to seek shelter immediately in basements or interior rooms on the lowest floor of sturdy buildings.
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Tornado Watch vs. Tornado Warning: Differences Explained
A tornado watch and a tornado warning are both issued by the NWS, but they signal different levels of risk. A tornado watch means atmospheric conditions are favorable for tornadoes to develop in and around the watch area. Watches typically cover large regions, sometimes spanning multiple counties or states and are intended to give residents time to review emergency plans, monitor forecasts and prepare to take shelter if conditions worsen.
A tornado warning, by contrast, means a tornado has either been spotted by trained observers or detected by weather radar, posing an immediate threat to life and property. Warnings usually cover a much smaller area and require immediate action. When a tornado warning is issued, people should move to a basement, storm shelter or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building, away from windows.
Live Tracker Maps Show Incoming Storms Across Chicago Area
Animated weather footage from windy.com shows ongoing storms around Chicago, as well as across the Midwest, including in Indiana, Southern Michigan, Ohio, and into the Mid-Atlantic.
Strong winds were among the most impactful dangers associated with the storms. The worst thunderstorms are currently in central Illinois and northern Indiana, as of around 1:30 p.m. ET.
Rain is accompanying the storms, and exact amounts expected to accumulate over the next 12 hours vary depending on location.
When Did the Tornado Warning End?
By 1:30 p.m. ET, the tornado warning had expired. However, severe thunderstorm warnings and severe thunderstorm watches remained in place across Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, as well as into the Mid-Atlantic.
Residents within the impacted areas were urged to stay alert on Tuesday afternoon, as conditions were still favorable for dangerous weather, including damaging winds, large hail and the potential for additional tornado development.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Sam Wilson.
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