The Latest on tornadoes that touched down in Indiana and Ohio (all times local):
7:15 p.m.
The National Weather Service says a preliminary damage survey shows the EF3 tornado that hit Kokomo had an estimated peak wind of 152 mph.
The weather service says the tornado traveled nearly 5 miles on the city’s south side Wednesday, was about 300 yards wide and lasted 10 minutes.
It says the tornado destroyed a Starbucks near the Markland Mall.
The weather service earlier had classified the tornado as an EF3, which can have peak winds of 165 mph.
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6:15 p.m.
Wednesday’s tornado outbreak that swept Indiana came only about a week after another big August outbreak of tornadoes hit the state.
The National Weather Service said last week that eight tornadoes touched down across Indiana on Aug. 15. The previous August record was an outbreak on Aug. 9, 1969, that spawned five tornadoes.
Mike Ryan is a meteorologist with the weather service’s Indianapolis office. He says Wednesday’s outbreak could eclipse that record set only last week, if the storm tally reaches nine or more tornadoes.
As of late Thursday afternoon, weather service survey crews had confirmed that seven tornadoes hit Indiana on Wednesday. Ryan says he expects that tally to increase.
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5:50 p.m.
The National Weather Service says at least seven tornadoes swept parts of central and northern Indiana during Wednesday’s outbreak.
Meteorologist Mike Ryan with the weather service’s Indianapolis office says five tornado touchdowns have been confirmed in central Indiana and two have been confirmed in two northeastern Indiana counties.
But he says weather service survey crews are still surveying storm damage and he expects the tornado tally to continue to rise.
One of the tornadoes that hit central Indiana was an EF3 with winds up to 165 mph that damaged and destroyed homes and business in the city of Kokomo, about 40 miles north of Indianapolis.
The weather service says a tornado that hit northeastern Indiana’s Allen County appears to have also been an EF3, although a final assessment is pending.
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1:40 p.m.
Howard County and the city of Kokomo have only 10 tornado sirens, but a telephone and text-messaging system spread the word about dangerous storms bearing down on the central Indiana community.
WRTV-TV reports ( http://bit.ly/2bCZFhp ) the emergency alert system was installed in the county after a 2013 tornado.
Before the first tornado struck Wednesday, thousands of people received telephone calls or text messages.
Howard County Commissioner Paul Wyman says “thousands upon thousands of people in Howard County” have signed up for the notifications and “it worked unbelievably well. … People were getting notifications well in advance of these tornadoes touching down.”
The National Weather Service says one tornado was an EF3 with 165 mph winds. Authorities report only 10-15 minor injuries in Howard County.
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12:30 p.m.
Not even KISS could rock ‘n’ roll all night with tornado sirens blaring.
Frontman Gene Simmons tweeted that the band’s show in Toledo, Ohio, was stopped briefly Wednesday night during a tornado warning.
He says some people went into the arena to seek shelter until the storm passed.
While no tornadoes touched down in Toledo, there was a long line of damage across the northwestern part of the state from the storm that first hit central and northern Indiana.
About six trailers were damaged at a mobile home park near Hicksville in Ohio.
Officials in Van Wert County say at least two tornadoes touched down about 2 miles apart, tearing roofs off homes and flattening barns.
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12:15 p.m.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence says it is a miracle that no one was killed or badly hurt by a tornado that hit the city of Kokomo.
Pence spoke Thursday after touring a neighborhood and businesses hit by Wednesday’s tornado. The National Weather Service says it was an EF3 tornado, packing winds of up to 165 mph.
Pence also visited a Red Cross shelter where some 200 people spent the night.
He credited quick thinking and early warnings of the approaching storm for the lack of serious injuries.
Pence and U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly were among officials who talked with residents in a neighborhood where homes were also damaged by a 2013 tornado.
Donnelly said Kokomo is a resilient, tough community and that all the residents he spoke with vowed to rebuild.
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12:05 p.m.
The National Weather Service says it’s still unclear how many tornadoes touched down in Indiana on Wednesday.
The state’s Department of Homeland Security reported early Thursday that 12 tornadoes hit the state, but later the agency revised that number to eight.
Weather service meteorologist Joseph Nield says it’s not yet clear how many tornadoes touched down, although an EF3 tornado did strike Kokomo and an EF2 swept part of Montgomery County.
Nield says it’s likely several more tornadoes struck Indiana, but that those findings won’t come until later Thursday.
He says five separate weather service survey crews are scouring areas with storm damage in central and northern Indiana to determine if tornadoes struck there.
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10:55 a.m.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has been hugging and chatting with people whose homes were destroyed or damaged when a tornado whipped through the city of Kokomo.
Donald Trump’s running mate arrived in Kokomo by helicopter to view the damage Thursday morning, a day after heavy storms spawned tornadoes across north and central Indiana.
Many trees were knocked down in the storm, and a large truck was hurled onto its side. Some homes are ruined while others were largely untouched.
Pence returned to Indiana after campaign stops in North Carolina on Wednesday. He has cancelled a campaign trip planned for Thursday.
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8:35 a.m.
The mayor of Kokomo says crews from elsewhere in the state are coming to the central Indiana city to help restore power and clean up debris in the tornado-hit community.
Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight said Thursday morning that he’s grateful that no one was killed or seriously injured by the storm that struck Wednesday afternoon, damaging numerous houses, apartments and businesses.
He says about 220 people stayed overnight in a temporary shelter in Kokomo, about 40 miles north of Indianapolis.
Howard County Sheriff Steve Rogers says 10 to 15 people suffered minor injuries.
Utility companies report at least 15,000 homes and businesses remain without electricity in Howard County.
Police have restricted access to storm-damage neighborhoods, saying residents must show identification to officers before entering.
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8:15 a.m.
Indiana’s Department of Homeland Security says a tornado outbreak produced at least 12 tornadoes.
Agency spokesman John Erickson says officials are still assessing the storm damage Thursday, but that the tally as of Wednesday night showed 12 tornadoes touched down in Adams, Allen, Blackford, Cass, Grant, Howard, Marion and Montgomery counties in northern and central Indiana.
Several of those tornadoes struck Howard County, where the south side of the city of Kokomo suffered extensive damage.
National Weather Service surveys Thursday should determine whether additional storm damage in other areas was caused by tornadoes or high winds in severe thunderstorms.
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7:45 a.m.
Emergency officials and the Red Cross have set up shelters for victims of tornadoes that swept across central Indiana.
One shelter is at the Kokomo Event and Conference Center. The Indianapolis Star reports that about 200 people were being housed and fed at the center at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, hours after the storms moved through. Kokomo is about 50 miles north of Indianapolis.
Another shelter is at Walnut Elementary School in New Ross, northwest of Indianapolis.
The Indiana Red Cross regional headquarters in Indianapolis has a team of employees and volunteers working at an operations center.
The National Weather Service says at least eight tornadoes touched down on Wednesday causing substantial damage. Authorities say between 15 and 20 people suffered injuries but none were severe.
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7:05 a.m.
The National Weather Service says at least seven tornadoes swept parts of central and northern Indiana during Wednesday’s outbreak.
One was an EF3 with winds up to 165 mph that damaged and destroyed homes and business in the city of Kokomo, about 40 miles north of Indianapolis.
The weather service says a tornado that hit northeastern Indiana’s Allen County appears to have also been an EF3, although a final assessment is pending.
GOP vice presidential candidate and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence plans to leave the campaign trail Thursday to assess storm damage.
The weather service says two other thunderstorms produced separate tornadoes, one in Avon west of Indianapolis and one northwest of Lafayette, which is southwest of Indianapolis.
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This update has been corrected to show that the National Weather Service said at least seven, not eight, tornadoes hit during Wednesday’s storm. The original update relied on information from the weather service’s tally of an Aug. 15 tornado outbreak, not Wednesday’s storm.
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9:20 p.m.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence says he’ll tour Howard and Montgomery counties and possibly other areas Thursday to assess the storm damage.
The Republican vice presidential candidate returned to Indiana from the campaign trail Wednesday evening after the National Weather Service said several tornadoes struck the state. One that hit Kokomo has been determined to be an EF3 with 165 mph winds.
Pence says he’ll remain in the state as long as necessary to ensure people affected by the storms have the support they need. He says 200 people have checked in to a Red Cross shelter in Kokomo.
Indiana State Police spokesman Capt. David Bursten says about a dozen people were injured, but none seriously.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS INDIANAPOLIS — Aug 25, 2016, 7:19 PM ET
Photo by Jeff Morehead/Chronicle-Tribune “A funnel cloud near Van Buren, Ind., moves east before breaking up as storms move through Grant County, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016. At least two tornadoes struck cities in central Indiana on Wednesday, tearing the roof off apartment buildings, sending air conditioners falling onto parked cars and cutting power to thousands of people.”
