14 days in the dark: Power returns for many, thousands still wait
Thousands of customers remain without power two weeks after a derecho tore through northwestern Indiana, with some outages expected to last until Aug. 25.
Residents are slowly getting electricity restored nearly two weeks after powerful storms caused widespread outages across the region.
One of the strongest thunderstorm complexes of the summer is still disrupting daily life in northwestern Indiana, two weeks later, where thousands of customers remained without power after a derecho tore through the region.
As many as 374,500 electric customers lost power after a powerful line of storms swept through the area on Tuesday, Aug. 11, according to Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO). By Aug. 24, after a large restoration effort through the weekend in Portage, about 11,000 remained without power. Full restoration is not expected until Tuesday, Aug. 25.
The storms were classified as a preliminary derecho, a long-lived windstorm capable of producing widespread damage over hundreds of miles. It was just the third derecho reported in the U.S. this year, with wind gusts reaching 99 mph in Gary, Indiana.
An electrical worker on the street for repairing power in Gary, Indiana, on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, more than a week after a deadly storm passed through the area. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Homes have become uncomfortably warm without air conditioning, with high temperatures reaching the 80s on most days since the derecho and overnight lows only dipping into the upper 60s and lower 70s.
Cheers and applause erupted in parts of Portage, Indiana, on Sunday as electricity returned to residents who had endured nearly two weeks without power following a destructive derecho.
“We had to clap because it’s been a very emotional 13 days,” resident Amelia Lopez told WLS. Others described seeing utility crews reach their neighborhood as a long-awaited sign that life could begin returning to normal.
Local organizations have stepped in to provide hot meals, basic supplies and charging stations for communities waiting for power to return.
The damage left behind by the storm has complicated restoration efforts, with hundreds of power poles and dozens of transmission poles needing to be repaired or replaced. The previous four major storms broke a combined 127 power distribution poles, while the derecho on Aug. 11 broke 1,230 poles, according to NIPSCO.
NIPSCO said the restoration effort suffered another setback Friday morning after a transmission equipment failure created additional outages in some areas.
Shatiya Hardin checks her refrigerator after power outages at her home in Gary, Indiana, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, more than a week after a deadly storm passed through the area. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
The long-duration outages and storm damage have also kept Gary-area schools closed for more than a week.
Most schools in Gary welcomed students back on Monday with a two-hour delay. However, Bethune Early Childhood Center remains without power and closed.
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