Authorities in southern Michigan on Saturday were searching through rubble and debris after suspected tornadoes tore through the region and killed four people, including a 12-year-old boy, during powerful storms also blamed for two deaths in eastern Oklahoma.
First responders from multiple agencies were in the Union Lake area near Union City searching for more possible victims and clearing roads, authorities said. Photos and videos posted on social media showed flattened homes and knocked down trees in a lakeside neighborhood.
Severe thunderstorms that began in northern Indiana appeared to spawn multiple tornadoes in southern Michigan on Friday, said Lonnie Fisher, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, which sent teams to the region Saturday to evaluate the damage and confirm tornadoes.
“Mostly likely there were three distinct tornadoes, but we won’t know 100 percent for sure until they finish the survey,” Fisher said Saturday, adding that the storms rapidly intensified in southern Michigan after hitting northern Indiana.
The threat of severe weather continued Saturday in the nation's midsection, with strong thunderstorms possible stretching from Texas and to the northeast all the way to Ohio and western parts of Pennsylvania and New York.
Later Saturday, the National Weather Service said an initial assessment confirmed that a EF3 tornado with winds of at least 150 mph (241 kph) struck the Union Lake area. Surveys in other damaged areas were pending. Tornado watches were posted Saturday afternoon for eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia and western parts of Pennsylvania and New York.
Three people were killed and 12 were injured in the Union Lake area, according to the Branch County Sheriff’s Office.
Lisa Piper stood on her back deck and took video of a terrifying scene that played out on the other side of frozen Union Lake as a funnel cloud formed and then dropped toward the ground. Trees were torn from their roots and debris flew into the air.
“It’s lifting houses!” she said. As the devastation continued, she exclaimed: “Oh my heart is pounding. Oh, I hope they’re OK.”
About 50 miles (81 kilometers) southwest of Union Lake, the Cass County Sherriff's Office said a 12-year-old boy died and several other people were injured during a possible tornado. Sheriff Clint Roach said in a Facebook post that Silas Anderson's parents found him injured and provided first aid, but he later died at a hospital.
Disaster relief workers were going door to door in the Union City and Three Rivers areas to offer meals and clean-up supplies, state officials said. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she would be declaring a state of emergency in Branch, Cass and St. Joseph counties.
In Oklahoma, just south of Tulsa, a tornado in Beggs was blamed for the deaths of two people in a house on Friday, the Okmulgee County Sheriff's Office said. Two other people were taken to a hospital.
The tornado cut around a 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) path of damage in Okmulgee County including Beggs, some 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Tulsa, said Jeff Moore, the county’s emergency manager. Large trees were toppled and power outages were reported.
Suspected tornadoes also were reported in northern parts of Tulsa, where a building at the Tulsa Tech Peoria campus was damaged.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said Saturday that he declared a state of emergency in several counties to free up support and resources for affected areas.
The Oklahoma deaths came a day after storms killed a 47-year-old woman and her 13-year-old daughter in Fairview in the western part of the state. Authorities said they were found dead in a vehicle.
In an eerie scene captured on video Thursday, a first responder drove straight at a storm near 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.
The National Weather Service said strong storms and flash flood risks on Saturday stretched from the Great Lakes to Texas. A tornado watch that was issued for a large portion of Arkansas and parts of Texas and Louisiana expired in the morning.
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.
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.
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