UPDATE @ 7:20 p.m.: Police are reporting a tornado on the ground just north of North Manchester, at Packerton Road.
UPDATE @ 6:40 p.m.: The confirmed tornado at 6:40 p.m. was located eight miles northwest of Swayzee, or 10 miles northeast of Kokomo, heading east at 20 mph, the National Weather Service reported.
UPDATE @ 5:55 p.m.: A tornado was confirmed, located 10 miles southwest of Walton, 12 miles west of Kokomo, moving east at 25 mph, the NWS reported. There were no reports the tornado touched down.
UPDATE @ 5:45 p.m.: Another possible tornado was spotted at 5:46 p.m. 11 miles southwest of Walton and 13 miles west of Kokomo, moving east at 25 mph, according to the NWS. Amateur radio indicted the possible tornado was at county roads 400 East and 250 South in that area.
UPDATE @ 5:20 p.m.: GOP vice presidential candidate Mike Pence issued the following Tweet in reaction to the tornado strikes in Indiana:
“We are leaving NC and getting back to Indiana. Serious storms and tornados[sic]. Please keep Hoosiers in your prayers.”
FIRST REPORT
A tornado touched down in Kokomo, Indiana, according to the National Weather Service in Indianapolis.
The NWS described the storm as “a confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado,” which was spotted in central Indiana, including over Indianapolis.
A Starbucks coffee shop was destroyed around 3:20 p.m. in Kokomo. The tornado hit the ground near Markland Mall and leveled the Starbucks. The tornado also ripped through Park Place Apartments in Kokomo, causing heavy damage to the buildings, but there were no reports of injuries from either place, CBS affiliate WTTV in Indianapolis reported.
Traffic was bumper to bumper outside the Chrysler plant in Kokomo, which emergency vehicles passing, presumably headed to tornado damage, according to a social media post on Twitter. Other damage reported through social media include toppled cornstalks in the Mace, Indiana, area.
A severe thunderstorm spawned the tornado, which was moving east between 25 and 35 mph, the NWS reported.
Tornado Warnings remain in place in parts of Indiana, along with severe thunderstorm warnings and a flood advisory in parts of Indiana. The line of strong storms also has prompted a Tornado Watch for Darke and Mercer counties in Ohio.
