Tornados strike Michigan, damaging homes, businesses

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Tornados strike Michigan, damaging homes, businesses

A tornado struck Northern Michigan on Friday, damaging homes and businesses, authorities said.

An unknown number of injured were taken by ambulance to hospitals after the ricocheted tornado struck the city of Gaylord, about 230 miles north of Detroit.

The agency said no deaths had been reported.

NBC affiliate WPBN of Traverse City, Michigan, broadcast images of mobile homes flipped and knocked over at a Gaylord trailer park. It also showed footage of buildings ripped apart near theaters known as Gaylord Cinema West.

The station reported that power outages in the area caused Gaylord's Otsego Memorial Hospital to divert patients to other facilities.

More than 22,000 customers in Northern Michigan were without power Friday, according to PowerOutage. More than a third of utility users are in Gaylord, according to the US.

Gretchen Whitmer said on Friday she would commit necessary resources to rebuilding and reparing damaged areas.

She said that her heart goes out to the families and small businesses impacted by the tornado and severe weather in Gaylord. The entire Gaylord community of Michigan is with you. The Michigan State Police said at 4: 46 p.m. that emergency crews were en route, debris including downed trees and power lines blocked roadways, and multiple homes and businesses have been damaged in the storm.

National Weather Service meteorologist Rich Pollman said by email, the agency initially confirmed the vortex.

The agency's process of fully confirming tornadoes usually includes a next day walkthrough of the impacted area to measure its possible path and damage.

The National Weather Service said a tornado warning was in effect for the county that includes Gaylord, Otsego and the village of Posen.

A tornado watch was in effect for parts of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia through 7 p.m.

The tornado appeared to be the result of unreliable weather as a cold front from the Great Lakes to the Southeast clashed with unusually warm temperatures in the Northeast.

Federal forecasters said severe storms from Lower Michigan to southern Oklahoma and eastern Texas were possible through Saturday.