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A destructive series of storms struck southern Michigan on Friday, resulting in four fatalities and widespread damage. The severe weather, which included at least one confirmed tornado, demolished homes, sent pieces of roofs soaring through the air, and left debris tangled in power lines.
In the Union Lake vicinity near Union City, a tornado claimed the lives of three individuals and injured 12 others, according to the Branch County Sheriff’s Office. Approximately 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) to the southwest, Cass County authorities reported another death and multiple injuries after a tornado touched down.
Lisa Piper captured a harrowing scene from her back deck, filming as a funnel cloud descended over frozen Union Lake. The twister uprooted trees and sent debris swirling into the sky.
“It’s lifting houses!” Piper exclaimed, her voice filled with anxiety. As the destruction unfolded, she added, “Oh, my heart is pounding. Oh, I hope they’re OK.”
The powerful storm system stretched from Michigan to Oklahoma, bringing heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorm warnings. Tornado watches were issued from Iowa to Oklahoma, including across Michigan.
At least one tornado has been confirmed in southern Michigan, near Union City, on Friday, according to the National Weather Service, and there were reports of possible others.
Part of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Union City was damaged, although its nearly 150-year-old grand piano was spared, it said in a post on Facebook.
The combination of a weather system that pulled moisture out of the Gulf of Mexico and a warm front that moved north created the right conditions for a tornado in a state where they’re relatively rare, according to David Roth, a meteorologist at the weather service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. The system encountered much cooler air in the Great Lakes area.
Michigan gets an average of 15 tornadoes a year, which is much less than the 155 for Texas and 96 for Kansas, he said.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer activated the state’s Emergency Operations Center Friday “to coordinate an all-hands-on-deck response to severe weather,” she said in a statement.
In St. Joseph County, Michigan, next to the Indiana border, the sheriff’s office told residents to “seek shelter immediately” following reports of an unconfirmed tornado, a severe thunderstorm watch and possible winds more than 60 mph (96 kph). The sheriff’s office said they should expect power outages, closed roads and disruptions to cell service and the internet.
Severe weather stretches far beyond Michigan
A tornado cut around a 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) path of damage in Okmulgee County, some 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Tulsa, although more details wouldn’t be clear until daybreak, said Jeff Moore, the county’s emergency manager.
Some people were injured, although Moore couldn’t provide an exact number or their conditions, and large trees were toppled. Power was out for more than 1,600 people, according to poweroutage.us.
“We’re just getting everywhere as fast as we can, clearing roads as fast we can,” Moore said.
In an eerie scene captured on video Thursday, a first responder drove straight at a storm near the western Oklahoma town of Fairview, where flashes of lightning illuminated a giant funnel that appeared to reach the ground. That storm, among the first outbreaks of severe weather on the verge of the spring storm season, was filmed by a camera mounted on the deputy’s car.
Nearby, a 47-year-old woman and her 13-year-old daughter from Fairview were found dead in a vehicle near an intersection of a highway and a county road at about 10 p.m. Thursday, authorities said.
“I am praying for the family as they grieve this tragic loss, as well as all those impacted by the storms,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a statement Friday.
Multiple large municipalities could see severe storms
More than 5 million Americans were at an enhanced risk of severe weather in an area that includes Kansas City, Missouri, and Topeka, Kansas, the national Storm Prediction Center said Friday.
Severe, scattered thunderstorms are expected to continue Friday evening from areas of the Plains states to the Ozarks and Midwest, the National Weather Service said.
The spring storms come near the start of what many call tornado season, which generally begins at various times in different parts of the U.S. Experts recommend a few simple safety steps to take before tornadoes hit, including having a weather radio and a plan for where to take shelter.
The weather began to ease Friday in some areas of the Northeast, but Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut remained under weather advisories.
In parts of the southern U.S., the weather pattern is also expected to usher in extremely warm temperatures for this time of year by the weekend.
“Temperatures will be 20-30 degrees above average, with 80s reaching as far north as parts of the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic,” federal forecasters wrote in their long-range forecast discussion. “Daily records could become widespread.”
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McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire, and Martin reported from Atlanta. Associated Press Writer Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed.