Storm Knocks Off Notre Dame Basilica Spire

"That's a fairly significant amount of damage to one of the university's most important landmarks," spokesman Dennis Brown said. Several large trees on campus also were damaged, he said.

The Tuesday evening storm brought heavy rain and wind up to 70 mph to LaPorte and St. Joseph counties, the National Weather Service said. Several people reported seeing funnel clouds, and the weather service was trying to confirm whether any tornadoes touched down.

There were reports of trees falling on cars and homes across northern Indiana and into Ohio and Michigan, meteorologist Patrick Murphy said. The storm initially knocked out power to 52,000 customers of Northern Indiana Public Service Co. About 16,000 customers, most in Gary and Portage, remained without electricity Wednesday, the company said.