At least eight people were killed and several others injured in Michigan and Oklahoma, according to officials, after severe storms hit towns across the Midwest and the Plains on Friday, wreaking havoc along their path.
Four people died in south central Michigan as the area was hit by three or more strong tornadoes that also destroyed homes and businesses, tore trees down, and tossed residents’ vehicles. According to data by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) analyzed by MLive, Friday was Michigan’s deadliest tornado day in 46 years.
A video shared on Facebook by Michigan resident Lisa Piper shows the devastating tornado that hit Union City moving along the frozen Union Lake, lifting debris up in the air together with other unidentified objects in its passage.
“What the freak. OMG,” she said in the video, while filming the tornado from their back deck. “I hope everyone’s okay over there. It’s lifting houses off…Oh, my heart is pounding. Oh, I hope they’re OK.”
Warning: This video contains strong language.
In her post, Lisa confirmed she and her family were safe. Meanwhile, photos shared by social media users online show uprooted trees and smashed sheds in Union City after the tornado swept the town.
The First Congregational United Church of Christ in Union City wrote on Facebook their building has been partially damaged by the tornado, adding that its nearly 150-year-old grand piano and the sanctuary were spared.
Another tornado was reported in the town of Three Rivers, about 25 miles away from Union City.
The severe weather killed three people and injured 12 more in Union City, according to officials. One person was killed in Edwardsburg, Michigan, where several others were injured. In Oklahoma, two deaths were reported in Okmulgee County and two more in Major County.
Why Were These Tornadoes So Deadly?
Michigan sits outside the so-called Tornado Alley and averages about 15 tornadoes per year—much less than the 155 for Texas and 96 for Kansas—which means the devastation brought about by Friday’s storms was rare and unexpected.
But the combination of a warm front that moved north and a weather system that pulled moisture out of the Gulf of Mexico created the right conditions for such deadly tornadoes to develop, David Roth, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, said as reported by the Associated Press. The system encountered much cooler air in the Great Lakes area.
What Can We Expect on Saturday?
Additional thunderstorms are expected for Saturday, with the NWS saying a vast area ranging from the Great Lakes to Texas faces strong storms and flash flood risks. A tornado watch that had been issued for parts of Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana expired on Saturday morning.
Ohio and western parts of Pennsylvania and New York are also at risk of facing severe thunderstorms, forecasters said.
