LONDON, Ind. -- A line of strong to severe thunderstorms that cut through Indiana Friday evening dropped a tornado that stayed on the ground for about 17 miles just to the south of Indianapolis.

A storm assessment team from the National Weather Service in Indianapolis confirmed that the damage caused to homes, trees and other property in Johnson and Shelby counties was caused by a tornado.

Weather service officials said the tornado reached F-2 status, packing winds of up to 120 mph. The storm tore through an area from near Main Street and Interstate 65 in Greenwood to just past the London Road exit along Interstate 74 in Shelby County. Weather officials said the storm was as much as .4 miles wide.

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Video: Johnson County | Shelby County

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About 150 homes were damaged in Shelby County -- 33 of them were either destroyed or received major structural damage. The bulk of the Shelby County damage was in the communities of Fairland and London.

In Johnson County, officials said 15 homes were either destroyed or received heavy structural damage and about 10 homes received minor damage. Despite the extent of the damage, only minor injuries were reported.

Two exit ramps remain closed off I-74 in Shelby County -- a move officials said was made to keep gawkers out of the most heavily damaged areas, 6News' Tanya Spencer reported.

"The next thing we heard was like a big whistle sound and we ran to the basement and the windows started blowing in," said Linda Angel, whose home was damaged.

Jack Spears' home moved about 30 feet with him, his wife and two children inside.

"We all got down in the hallway and in about 40 seconds, it just demolished the place," Spears said.

Harlene Nickelson's grandson and three teenage friends barely made it to safety.

"Chase said he felt the walls start vibrating and he said, 'We've got to get to the basement,'" Nickelson said. "I guess they ran in the basement just at the time it hit."

Friends and neighbors worked on Saturday to clear debris, some working through their tears, salvaging what can be salvaged and searching for memories.

"There's more homes in Shelby County that were impacted. It just hit much more of a residential area in Shelby County than it did in Johnson County," said John Ogren, of the National Weather Service in Indianapolis.

Insurance adjusters were already out looking at the damage Saturday, but it will likely be several days before a damage estimate dollar amount is available.

Severe thunderstorms formed in a line just to the west of central Indiana Friday evening and moved quickly to the east, prompting numerous severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings.

The storm that impacted Shelby and Johnson County formed slightly ahead of the line. These types of storms more commonly form tornadoes.