Severe storms that spawned destructive tornadoes leave 8 dead across the Central US
A tornado rips off part of the roof of a Menard’s store in Three Rivers
By CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam, Sydney Bishop, CNN
(CNN) — Severe storms brought damaging tornadoes to parts of the central US Thursday and Friday, shredding buildings into piles of debris and killing at least eight people.
The severe weather threat that started Wednesday will largely wind down after Saturday.
A smattering of severe storms threatens two areas – central Texas to the lower Mississippi Valley and parts of the Great Lakes, including Cleveland and Pittsburgh — with large hail, damaging winds and possible tornadoes Saturday.
A severe thunderstorm watch for a swath of cities across Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi is in effect until 3 p.m. ET. Tornadoes, quarter-sized hail and wind gusts up to 70 mph are possible.
Competing air masses with record temperatures in the East and the cooler weather behind an elongated cold front are fueling the severe weather threat.
Deadly tornadoes hit Michigan and Oklahoma
In southwestern Michigan Friday afternoon, four people were killed and others injured as severe thunderstorm activity kicked up a destructive tornado.
Three were killed and 12 others injured when the tornado ripped through the Union Lake area, the Branch County Sheriff’s Office told The Associated Press. Several people were sent to the hospital, the AP said, although the extent of their injuries was not immediately clear.
Another person was killed and several others injured after the tornado touched down in nearby Cass County, officials said in a news release. Several large structures were damaged and a local state of emergency was enacted, they added.
The tornado was fueled by a lone supercell thunderstorm and was tagged with a rare “particularly dangerous situation” designation by the National Weather Service as it tracked near Three Rivers, Michigan.
The State Emergency Operations Center was activated after damage was reported in Branch, Cass and St. Joseph counties, Michigan State Police said.
A tornado in the Three Rivers area launched fragments of buildings into the air and peeled large sections of the roof off a storage facility, video shows. It’s unclear if anyone was injured. CNN has reached out for more information.
In Union City, east of Union Lake, video shows massive pieces of debris flying in the air as someone in the background says, “There goes a house.”
The Michigan fatalities follow reports of a deadly tornado striking Oklahoma overnight Thursday, killing a mother and daughter.
On Friday, another round of dangerous storms killed two people in Beggs, Oklahoma, the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office said.
As of late Friday, “all persons are accounted for and there are no more missing persons,” Sheriff Eddy Rice said in a statement.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said he had spoken with Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols and Beggs Mayor Roger Merrill following tornadoes in their communities.
“We are committed to assist with their recovery efforts,” he said on Facebook.
The storms were charged by unusually warm air for early March along with a surge of energy from a shift in the jet stream.
Thursday night’s storms
A mother and daughter were killed Thursday night in western Oklahoma when their vehicle was struck by a tornado at the start of the two-day outbreak of severe storms underway in the Plains and Midwest.
The two were traveling near State Highway 60 and 243 Road west of Fairview, Oklahoma, when they were hit by the tornado, Major County Sheriff Tony Robinson told CNN.
The storms also blew over a semi-trailer in Major County, which is about 100 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, according to a report from the National Weather Service.
Thursday night’s storms spawned a total of seven tornado reports from the Texas Panhandle to south-central Kansas. Hail the size of golf balls or larger also pelted the region.
In Grant County, Oklahoma, a reported tornado downed trees, power lines and damaged structures, according to reports from the Weather Service.
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CNN’s Ruben Correa, Taylor Romine, Hanna Park and Meteorologists Chris Dolce, Mary Gilbert and Briana Waxman contributed to this report.
