Destructive tornadoes leave 5 dead as storms fire up across the Central US

By CNN Meteorologists Chris Dolce, Mary Gilbert

(CNN) — A damaging tornado roared through parts of southwestern Michigan Friday afternoon, leaving three people dead and others injured as severe thunderstorm activity ramps up across a broad section of the United States.

Three were killed and 12 others injured when a 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.

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.

Video from the Three Rivers area showed the tornado tearing buildings to shreds and peeling the roof off a storage facility. It’s unclear if anyone was injured. CNN has reached out for more information.

Another video in Union City, east of Union Lake, 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, with more dangerous storms expected Friday.

The most significant threat for dangerous storms peaked Friday afternoon and evening in parts of the Plains and Mississippi Valley and the day has already proved destructive storms are not confined to the greatest risk areas.

Elsewhere, multiple tornado watches were in effect for millions of people in the Central US by late Friday.

Storm threat ramps up

A broad area from Wisconsin to as far south as Texas could see severe storms through Friday evening.

The most significant storms are most likely in a Level 3 of 5 risk area for parts of seven states in the Central US, including Kansas City; Springfield, Missouri; Fayetteville, Arkansas; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tornadoes, a couple of which could be strong (EF2 or stronger), lime-sized or larger hail and destructive winds are all possible.

The storms are being fueled by unusually warm air for early March along with a surge of energy from a shift in the jet stream. Record high temperatures are possible in dozens of cities on Friday from Chicago into the Southeast.

The ingredients fueling Friday’s threat will lose a bit of their steam on Saturday. Still, there could be at least a smattering of severe storms, especially from Texas to the lower Mississippi Valley and in the eastern Great Lakes.

Wind capable of knocking down trees or power lines is the main concern for all threatened areas Saturday, including Houston and Buffalo, New York. The chance of a tornado is low, but we can’t completely rule an isolated one out. Texas could also see isolated large hail.

Thursday’s deadly tornado

A mother and daughter were killed Thursday night in western Oklahoma when their vehicle was struck by a tornado at the start of a 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.

A tornado warning was in effect for part of Major County between 8 and 9 p.m. CT. The storms also blew over a semi-trailer in the county, which is about 80 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.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.