May 3-4, 2019 Great Lakes tornado outbreak

The May 3-4, 2019 Great Lakes tornado outbreak was a catastrophic tornado outbreak that occurred in the states of Michigan, Indiana, Ontario, and Ohio. The tornado produced the northernmost EF5 tornado on record in Indiana's history. The northernmost EF4 tornado in Ohio was also recorded.

Peru/Wabash, Indiana
At about 2317 UTC on May 3, a violent rain-wrapped tornado touched down two miles northwest of Walton, Indiana. The tornado began to move east-northeast, barreling straight towards Peru. The tornado reportedly leveled a farm and toppled over windmills near the community of Nead. The tornado was captured on camera as it neared the city of Peru. It was nearly two miles wide, which is very uncommon for tornadoes in the region of the Great Lakes. The tornado flattened homes just before entering the city limits of Peru. The tornado entered Peru at 2332 UTC, sweeping homes off of their foundations, and at least 28 peopled died in Peru, most of them were caught by surprise when the tornado destroyed their homes. One of the victims was a national story, where a nine-year-old girl and her thirty-three-year-old father tried to keep the brick wall of their home off of the girl's pregnant mother. After being hit by too much debris, both the girl and father died, just so that the girl's mother could live. The tornado produced its first visible EF5 damage in Peru when a mansion was obliterated, and the only remains left were the concrete blocks of the foundation. The tornado also completely destroyed other homes in the area. A total of 400 homes and businesses were destroyed in the city of Peru. The tornado exited Peru at 2339 UTC, and soon was seen barreling towards Wabash on radar. The tornado formed a very well-defined hook echo. A group of storm chasers were located along State Road 115, and recorded winds of 280 mph, one of the highest from a tornado on record. The tornado soon entered Wabash at 2354 UTC. The tornado killed a total of 34 people in Wabash, mainly from the unknown strength of the storm. Since most tornadoes are weak in Northern Indiana, (with an exception of the 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak), many were killed from the fierce destruction. The storm began to weaken while in Wabash, and began to produce EF3-EF4 damage, which is still uncommon for Northern Indiana. The tornado swept away, flattened, or leveled over 450 buildings in Wabash, about 50% of the town. The tornado finally weakened and lifted north of Andrew at 0001 UTC May 4. Overall, the tornado caused $500 million in damages and killed 65 people, the second-highest death toll form a single tornado in Indiana, only falling short to the Tri-State Tornado in 1925.

Toledo, Ohio
In the early morning hours of May 4, a tornado touched down in the suburbs of Toledo. The tornado rapidly strengthened, destroying and leveling several homes in the suburbs. Just outside of downtown, the tornado killed four people at a factory when it was completely leveled and exploded. The explosion sent nuclear gases into a 50 mile radius, with the contamination zone ending at Fort Wayne, Indiana. The explosion also forced evacuations rather than cleanups the day after the tornado. The tornado claimed the most victims in downtown, when skyscrapers that were designed to withstand tornadoes, were heavily damaged to the point that the buildings could have possibly fell. The tornado killed 14 people in downtown, upping the death toll to 18 at the time. The tornado rapidly dissipated and lifted after affecting downtown, and in the process, the tornado claimed its final victim, upping the overall total to 20. The governor of Ohio, John Kasich, declared a state of emergency in response to the devastating tornado.