Heavy winds and thunderstorms blew through the city of Gary Thursday evening, causing nearly 8,000 residents to remain without power, according to NIPSCO, Indiana’s largest electric and power company.
Approximately 57,000 NIPSCO customers were without power on Friday afternoon. That total includes 7,769 Gary residents, more than 10% of the city’s population. Gary ZIP code 46403 has the most outages, with 3,405 homes without power, according to NIPSCO.
NIPSCO anticipates a multiday outage based on the extent of the damage. At this time, no estimate is available for when service will be fully restored.
Outage restoration may be slowed down by continuing inclement weather throughout the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. Scattered severe thunderstorms are possible today and tonight, with winds up to 75 mph, potential hail up to golf-ball size, and a limited tornado risk. Meanwhile, non-thunderstorm winds may gust as high as 45 mph Friday afternoon.
The power company encourages residents to make the necessary plans to keep themselves and their families safe, including avoiding downed power lines and poles, keeping a battery-powered radio on hand, and reporting outages at NIPSCO.com or by calling 1-800-464-7726.
The city of Gary has opened the Monroe Center, 4101 Washington St., Gary, as an emergency shelter for residents in need. It can be reached at (219) 501-8766.