(CNN) — Powerful tornadoes and storms swept through southwestern Michigan Tuesday evening, destroying or damaging homes and businesses and injuring several residents – and millions more from northeast Texas to the Carolinas face at least a slight risk of severe weather Wednesday.
At least a dozen people were injured at a mobile home park in Pavilion Township following a tornado Tuesday, according to a county official. The township is located in Kalamazoo County, where 15 to 20 people had minor injuries and were transported to two area hospitals, according to the county’s emergency management spokesperson Andrew Alspach.
In the neighboring city of Portage, about 7 miles south of Kalamazoo, pictures and videos showed a FedEx facility with significant roof and structural damage after a storm hit the area Tuesday evening. However, there were no serious injuries, a FedEx representative told CNN.
About 50 people were trapped in the building due to downed wires, Taylor Koopman, a spokesperson for Kalamazoo County administrator’s office, told MLive.com , adding work to clear the wires was ongoing as of 9:30 p.m. ET. However, city of Portage spokesperson Mary Beth Block told CNN in an email the building had been cleared by authorities.
Two tornadoes hit the Portage area Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.
“We have significant damage, including damage to residential and commercial buildings, trees down across many roads in the city, and several reports of gas leaks,” Portage city officials said in a news release.
The city pleaded with its residents to “stay home” and “please stay off the roads. First responders are stuck in gridlock.”
The Village of Centreville was hit hard during a possible tornado on Tuesday, according to St. Joseph County officials. Multiple buildings, residential and commercial, were destroyed after a possible tornado touched down in Centreville on Tuesday, according to St. Joseph County Undersheriff Jason Bingaman. The storm damage ripped off roofs and flattened homes “completely down,” Bingaman told CNN.
In Branch County, about 60 miles south of Kalamazoo, at least seven homes were destroyed, according to Emergency Management Director Tim Miner, who added he was unable to get out and assess damage to other parts of the county.
One city in the county, Union City, was under a rare tornado emergency earlier that went into effect when “a large and destructive tornado” was over the area, about 10 miles northwest of Coldwater and moving northeast at 45 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
According to the Storm Prediction Center , at least nine tornado reports were made in Michigan on Tuesday. Hail the size of softballs was also reported in some parts of the state.
More than 34,000 homes and businesses in Michigan were left without power as of early Wednesday, according to poweroutage.us . Elsewhere in the Midwest, more than 16,000 residents were in the dark in Ohio.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said her heart was going out to those impacted by the severe weather in southwest Michigan. The governor declared a state of emergency for Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Branch and Cass counties, she said Tuesday night.
“We will work with emergency teams overnight to monitor the situation and coordinate resources for those affected. Michigan is strong and together we will rebuild,” the governor said.
After Tuesday brought tornadoes, large hail, damaging wind gusts and heavy rainfall mainly across the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley, much of the Eastern US braces for another round of storms Wednesday. Over 140 million people could see some sort of storms Wednesday from Texas to Maine.
Tornado threat continues Wednesday
Severe thunderstorms are likely Wednesday across parts of the southern Plains into the mid Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, according to the Storm Prediction Center . As severe storms hit, tornadoes, very large hail, and damaging winds are expected over the large area. Some of the tornadoes may be strong, according to the center .
A population of nearly 20 million people will be under the strongest severe storm threat. The Storm Prediction Center has issued a level 3 of 5 enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms from northeast Texas to western Virginia, which includes much of the lower Ohio Valley, Tennessee Valley and middle to lower Mississippi Valley. Cities in the strongest threat for severe storms include Memphis, Nashville, St. Louis and Louisville.
“The greatest flash flooding threat also overlaps with the risk of severe thunderstorms, centered over Kentucky and Tennessee as well sections of neighboring states,” the National Weather Service said. “Residents and visitors are advised to have multiple ways of receiving warnings and never drive across flooded roadways.”
Lower severe storm threats spread from central Texas to the southern tip of Maine and includes the cities of Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington D.C., Baltimore, New York City, Boston and Charlotte. There, the threats are more likely to be large hail and damaging wind gusts, but tornadoes cannot be ruled out.
There have been 13 consecutive days of tornado reports across US
Spring is known for severe storms and tornadoes - and Spring 2024 is no exception. There has been at least one tornado report every day since April 25, a streak of 13 consecutive days, according to the Storm Prediction Center. A total of 287 tornadoes were reported in that time span.
April to June is peak tornado season across the US, with May traditionally seeing the most tornadoes. This month is coming off a particularly active April, where there were 300 tornadoes, the second most on record, according to the center. The all-time record occurred in April 2011, when there were 757 tornadoes.
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