United News of Bangladesh

Three people were killed in an apparent tornado that struck southern Michigan on Friday, authorities said, as powerful storms swept across the state, ripping the roof off a home improvement store and knocking down trees. The Branch County Sheriff’s Office said three other people were taken to hospital after the apparent tornado hit the Union Lake area, about 125 miles (200 km) west of Detroit. The National Weather Service confirmed at least one tornado near Union City in southern Michigan on Friday and said there could have been additional tornadoes. Blizzard batters Northeast, thousands of flights canceled At her home near Union City, Lisa Piper was heard repeatedly shouting “Oh my God” while filming from her back deck as a violent rotating column of air — appearing to be a tornado — tore through buildings across the lake. As the funnel grew larger and pulled large debris into the air, she said, “It’s lifting houses.” “My heart is pounding,” she said in the video. “I hope they’re OK.” David Roth, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, said conditions were favourable for a tornado because a weather system pulled moisture from the Gulf of Mexico while a warm front moved north and collided with much cooler air in the Great Lakes region. Michigan records an average of about 15 tornadoes each year, far fewer than Texas with 155 and Kansas with 96, he added. Severe weather likely cause of puffin deaths In St. Joseph County, Michigan, near the Indiana border, the sheriff’s office urged residents to “seek shelter immediately” after reports of an unconfirmed tornado, a severe thunderstorm watch and possible winds exceeding 60 mph (96.6 kph). “Citizens should anticipate power outages, closed roadways and/or neighbourhoods and cellular/internet interruptions,” the office said in a Facebook post. Authorities activated the state’s Emergency Operations Center as officials responded to widespread wind damage. Officials in Edwardsburg, near the Indiana border, reported fallen trees and several homes heavily damaged and warned residents to avoid the area. Powerful storms developed Friday afternoon from Michigan down to North Texas. In Oklahoma, a dramatic video captured Thursday showed a first responder driving toward a storm near Fairview as flashes of lightning illuminated a giant funnel cloud that appeared to touch the ground. The footage was recorded by a camera mounted on the deputy’s car. Authorities said a 47-year-old woman and her 13-year-old daughter from Fairview were found dead in a vehicle near a highway intersection with a county road around 10 pm Thursday. “Severe weather struck Major County last night and tragically claimed the lives of a mother and daughter,” Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said Friday, adding he was praying for the grieving family and others affected by the storms. According to the national Storm Prediction Center, more than 7 million Americans faced the highest risk of severe weather Friday in areas including the metropolitan regions of Kansas City, Missouri; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Omaha, Nebraska. Nearly 25 million people were under a slightly lower risk in a broader zone that includes Dallas, Oklahoma City and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The National Weather Service said severe, scattered thunderstorms were expected Friday evening from parts of the Plains states to the Ozarks and Midwest. Meteorologists with the private forecasting service AccuWeather said the strong storms were caused by a clash between warm air moving north from the Gulf Coast and cooler Canadian air behind cold fronts. The storms come as the United States approaches what is widely known as tornado season, which begins at different times across the country. Experts advise basic safety precautions, including having a weather radio and a plan for shelter before tornadoes strike. Weather conditions began improving Friday in parts of the Northeast, though Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut remained under weather advisories. Flood warnings were also issued in southern Ohio. Meanwhile, parts of the southern United States are expected to experience unusually high temperatures by the weekend. “Temperatures will be 20–30 degrees above average, with 80s reaching as far north as parts of the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic,” federal forecasters said in a long-range forecast discussion, adding that daily temperature records could become widespread.