More than 250,000 without power after NIPSCO’s largest outage event in company history

The damaging straight-line winds Tuesday afternoon are now confirmed as a “derecho.”

That’s a widespread windstorm sometimes called an inland hurricane because of its hurricane-force winds.

That’s what led to NIPSCO’s worst power outage in company history.

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It says the 100-mile-per-hour winds left historic damage that will take a while to repair.

More than 250,000 customers don’t have power, mostly in places like Hammond and Gary.

The company warns it may be multiple days before the power is back.

The damage and outages are also leading to more school closures and delays in our western areas.

You can check the status of power outages on NIPSCO’s website.