At least four people were killed and 12 others injured after tornadoes struck Michigan on Friday, one of several outbreaks of severe weather that brought damaging winds, large hail and heavy downpours from Texas to the Great Lakes, according to officials.
Sheriff Frederick Blankenship of Branch County, Mich., said a tornado touched down near Union Lake in Union City, a village which is about 40 miles southeast of Kalamazoo, Mich.
Of the 12 injured, three people were taken to a hospital. Their conditions were not immediately available.
The severe weather “wreaked havoc” in the area, especially in neighborhoods closer to Union Lake, Jennifer Nagel, the assistant village manager of Union City, said in a statement. “It is completely devastating,” she said.
Emergency responders are continuing to conduct recovery operations, and Sheriff Blankenship urged people to avoid affected areas. Residents can expect power outages, closed roads or restricted neighborhoods, as well as cellular and internet service interruptions.
In nearby Cass County, one person was killed and several more were injured after a reported tornado touched down near Edwardsburg, Mich., Sheriff Clint Roach said in a news release. Details about those injured were not immediately known.
Multiple homes and pole barns were damaged or destroyed, said Manny DeLaRosa, the emergency manager for Cass County.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan said there were also reports of injuries in Saint Joseph County. Details about the number of people injured and their conditions were not immediately available.
Video taken by a driver in Three Rivers, about 27 miles south of Kalamazoo, Mich., captured debris flying through the air and the roof of a store blowing off.
Three Rivers Health said several buildings on its hospital campus had sustained wind damage, but said no patients or staff members had been injured.
The side of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Union City was damaged, the church said on Facebook. One person was at the church at the time and they were uninjured, the church said.
The tornado did not damage the church’s 1877 Steinway piano, which was recently returned after being restored for three years.
The National Weather Service listed reports of 13 tornadoes in Michigan and Oklahoma on Friday.
More than 50 million people faced the potential for some severe weather as storms moved through on Friday.
John Hart, meteorologist with the Storm Prediction Center, said on Friday that the thunderstorm activity in the Midwest and Plains was not over, with the threat continuing through the night.
The thunderstorm activity in the Tulsa, Okla., area was expected to push into southeast Kansas and southern Missouri, bringing a threat of supercells thunderstorms that can spawn tornadoes.
Separately, northern Missouri and southern Iowa, where storms are just starting to form, is another area of concern.
“The environment for tornadoes is quite good over a large area, but those are the places where we think there’s the highest likelihood of thunderstorms actually forming,” Mr. Heart said.
Forecasters had warned this week that the country faced over a week straight of some level of potentially hazardous weather starting Wednesday, and that Friday was expected to be among the most severe.
“These early-season events can catch people off guard, coming off winter and more tranquil conditions,” said Steve Cobb, a forecaster with the National Weather Service office in Tulsa, Okla.
In northeastern Oklahoma, a woman and her teenage daughter were killed on Thursday night in Major County as a tornado moved through, local authorities said.
Sheriff Anthony Robinson said the pair were found in a vehicle that had been thrown a “significant distance” in a rural area near Fairview, Okla.
Facing a forecast that could potentially bring more storms and tornadoes to the area on Friday, Sheriff Robinson said, “There is not a whole lot you can do to prepare for them other than knowing where your shelters are.”
In Missouri, Gov. Mike Kehoe declared a state of emergency on Friday in anticipation of hazardous weather, and he urged people to pay attention to local forecasts through the day.
Repeated thunderstorms will also bring the risk of flash flooding, especially across northeastern Texas, eastern Oklahoma and parts of Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri.
Kansas City and Springfield in Missouri, Omaha, Neb., and Tulsa, Okla., are all in the bull’s-eye of an area the Weather Service said was at the highest risk for potentially dangerous weather on Friday.
Outside the areas at highest risk, a broad region facing potentially hazardous weather includes Dallas and Austin in Texas, as well as Chicago, Milwaukee, Omaha and St. Louis.
Here’s what else to know:
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Severe storms are also expected on Saturday. The areas at highest risk are expected to be from the eastern half of Texas into portions of Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi and toward the Great Lakes. Damaging winds will be the primary threat, except in parts of Texas, where large hail could also occur.
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The risk for flash floods continues across portions of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, through the middle of next week.
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Into early next week, forecasters said that Tuesday was likely to be another especially unsettled day.
Reporting was contributed by Christine Hauser, Mark Walker, Erin McCann, Nazaneen Ghaffar and Mitch Smith.
Hannah Ziegler is a general assignment reporter for The Times, covering topics such as crime, business, weather, pop culture and online trends.
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