Highland, Indiana was also hit especially hard by storms that blasted through the Chicago area Wednesday — with numerous trees coming down and at least one landing on a house. O

INDIANAPOLIS –Severe storms hit Indiana Wednesday night, leaving a trail of damage and power outages in several counties. A possible tornado touched down in Bartholomew County near Columbus just before 9 p.m., bringing down utility poles, trees, and power lines.

Severe storms Wednesday night left an elementary school in Gary, Indiana without part of its roof. Some classrooms also were damaged, and the school will be closed the rest of this week.

Central Indiana is under a wind advisory as of 11 a.m. Wednesday with thunderstorms possible later this afternoon and evening, according to NWS Indianapolis.

A tornado watch is in effect for a large swath of the Chicago suburbs and Northwest Indiana as a line of severe storms barrels towards our area.