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.