At Least 3 Dead, Dozens of Homes Destroyed as Tornado Outbreak Tears Across the Nation

A ferocious multi-day severe weather outbreak that began in the Plains and Midwest earlier this week has now pushed east, delivering its final blow to the Southeast and East Coast on Thursday morning. After leaving a trail of destruction from Texas to Michigan, the same storm system tore through the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Georgia overnight, knocking out power to more than 140,000 customers, before arriving at the doorstep of the Carolinas with tornado warnings and watches active across much of South Carolina as of this morning.

At least three people have been killed and dozens more injured as tornadoes, giant hail, and catastrophic winds ripped through communities stretching from Texas to Michigan over the past 48 hours. Meteorologists are calling it the most widespread and impactful severe weather outbreak so far this year.

An Elderly Couple Killed in Their Home, a Town Left in Ruins

The deadliest blow came Tuesday evening in Lake Village, Indiana, a small community about 60 miles southeast of Chicago. Just before 7 pm, an EF-3 tornado with estimated peak winds near 150 mph tore directly through the town, obliterating homes and businesses and killing Edward Kozlowski, 89, and his wife, Arlene Kozlowski, 84, inside their home.

The Newton County Coroner's Office confirmed the couple died from multiple blunt force trauma. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday. A relative found the pair in the yard behind their house, and Arlene's sister, Christine Kwintera, told reporters through tears, "She was good to everyone, all the kids. She was a good person." The couple's son-in-law, Steve Rehfeldt, described them simply as "wonderful, just really wonderful human beings."