6 tornadoes confirmed in Michigan; 5 people killed
CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — At least six tornadoes touched down in Michigan as part of severe storms powered by strong winds that killed five people, while downing trees, tearing roofs off buildings and leaving hundreds of thousands of customers without power, officials said.
The National Weather Service on Friday confirmed that an EF1 tornado with winds of 90 mph crossed from Ingham County into the western edge of adjacent Livingston County on Thursday night.
Four other EF1 tornadoes were reported in Bellville and Gibraltar in Wayne County, and in South Rockwood and near Newport in Monroe County.
A weaker EF0 tornado with peak winds of 80 mph was on the ground for less than two miles in Wayne County’s Canton Township, west of Detroit, the weather service said. That tornado caused a tree to fall into a house, said meteorologist Sara Schultz.
The weather service office in Grand Rapids, in western Michigan, said officials would be in the field Friday conducting damage surveys on a suspected tornado in Kent County.
The storm featured lightning displays erupting across the night sky and dumped multiple inches of rain on communities across the lower portion of the state.
In western Michigan, the Kent County Sheriff’s Office said a 21-year-old woman and two girls, ages 1 and 3, died Thursday night after two vehicles collided headon as it was raining.
“There was two vehicles traveling toward each other. One hydroplaned on water and it was occupied by four people,” Sgt. Eric Brunner told WZZM-TV.
The sheriff’s office said a 22-year-old Gowen man who was driving the car carrying the woman and two girls was seriously injured in the crash, which occurred when his car struck an SUV. That vehicle’s driver suffered minor injuries.
In Lansing, the state capital, an 84-year-old woman died Thursday night after a tree fell on a home. Firefighters extricated the woman from the home, but she was pronounced dead at a hospital, Lansing Police Department spokeswoman Jordan Gulkis said.
In Ingham County, where Lansing is located, the sheriff’s office said Friday that one person was confirmed dead and several people severely injured as more than 25 vehicles were severely damaged along Interstate 96.
It was not immediately clear early Friday afternoon if the storm or a crash was responsible for the wrecks on the freeway.
Trees were uprooted, and some roofs collapsed during Thursday’s storms, leaving many roads closed due to fallen trees and power lines.
The weather service office in Grand Rapids, in western Michigan, said officials would be in the field Friday conducting damage surveys on a suspected tornado in Kent County.
In the north Detroit suburb of Southfield, Muqitu Berry said he was in his ranch home about 9:30 p.m. Thursday when a large part of the trunk of a neighbor’s tree came crashing down, sounding “like a train coming through.”
The tree ended up across the front of Mr. Berry’s driveway and yard and took down power lines, dropping them onto his driveway and at least one vehicle, leaving Mr. Berry and his neighbors without power.
“I can’t get out of my driveway. I can’t go anywhere,” Mr. Berry said Friday morning. “We’re out of power, and it’s very frustrating.”
Wayne County Executive Warren Evans declared a state of emergency Friday in Michigan’s largest county, which includes Detroit, due to power outages, flooding, fallen trees and power lines and storm debris.
The county also warned residents to avoid any contact with several rivers after flooding caused municipalities to discharge partially or fully untreated wastewater into various waterways.
In Macomb County, northeast of Detroit, several thousand basements in Eastpointe and St. Clair Shores were spared flooding when stormwater and wastewater were discharged to Lake St. Clair through an emergency bypass system, Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller said. The bypass has been used only three times since 2017 but twice this week.
“Apparently, these storms have become our new normal,” Ms. Miller said. “This has been like a tropical storm, and both government and residents will need to make appropriate preparations whenever possible.”
More than 460,000 customers in Michigan and over 218,000 in Ohio were without power as of about 11:30 a.m. Friday, according to the Poweroutage.us website.