Five dead, hundreds of thousands without power in Michigan as storms spawn tornadoes

Aug. 25 (UPI) -- A Thursday night Michigan tornado ripped through Ingham County as a line of severe thunderstorms left five dead and 650,000 without power.

Three people were killed in a two-car crash as one of them hydroplaned in Kent County during the storm, one person was killed in Lansing when a tree fell on a home and one person died in an accident on I-96 in Ingham County.

"There was two vehicles traveling toward each other. One hydroplaned on water and it was occupied by four people," Kent County Sheriff's Deputy Sgt. Eric Brunner told WZZM-TV.

"We're fairly certain it was a tornado that traveled south of Webberville in Ingham County along Interstate 96," said Steve Considine, senior forecaster with the National Weather Service's White Lake Township office. "A storm survey will be conducted later today to determine its strength and path length."

As of late Friday morning 456,032 customers were still without power in Michigan.

The powerful near 80 mph winds flipped cars on I-96, forced semis into guardrails, toppled trees and damaged homes and buildings. As the storm flipped the cars it triggered a more than 25-vehicle pileup, according to the Ingham County Sheriff's Office.

Flooding from the storms hit roadways and blocked access to the McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.

The National Weather Service will survey damage from five possible tornadoes in Michigan Friday.