A series of severe storms triggered tornado warnings and tornado watches in much of central and northern Illinois on March 19, moving out of the area by late evening. The storms caused a smattering of power outages in northwest Indiana and widespread damage across the Chicagoland area.

Communities from the Midwest to the Great Lakes region are picking up the pieces after severe weather barreled across the region on Wednesday.

The National Weather Service confirmed three EF-0 tornadoes in Illinois and Indiana, and an EF-1 tornado in Indiana.

"We have dozens of families in this footprint right now that have been displaced," Gary Mayor Eddie Melton said during a press conference late Thursday morning on the city's south