Tornado in Gaylord, Michigan kills one, causes injuries and widespread damage

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A strong tornado tore apart Gaylord, a city in Michigan about 2 hours north of Lansing, on Friday afternoon, causing widespread damage, one death and 23 injuries, according to Michigan state police.

The incident tore apart Gaylord’s business district, where photos on social media showed severed roofs and demolished signs and power lines with debris scattered around. The Associated Press reported that the event lasted less than five minutes.

An ABC / NBC branch in Traverse City showed a video of the tornado moving over Interstate 75 in the busiest part of the city. A video of drones posted on social media shows mobile homes stacked on top of each other and firewood scattered across the street. Photo shows that the foundations of housing were destroyed.

“My heart is with families and small businesses affected by the tornado and bad weather in Gaylord,” tweeted Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D). “The whole Gaylord community – Michigan is with you. We will do everything necessary to restore it. “

The city imposed a curfew of 7 pm and asked residents to take shelter on the spot.

Twister tore Gaylord to about 3:45 p.m. The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for the area at 3:38 p.m., when the twister was nine miles away. As he was moving to Gaylord, the meteorological service warned of a “confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado.” It called on residents to hide. “This is a VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION,” the warning said.

Prior to the storm, the Meteorological Service put much of northern Lower Michigan under surveillance for a strong thunderstorm beginning at 1:55 p.m., warning that a “tornado or two” was possible.

The tornado storm erupted along a strong cold front that swept across the country. The same front caused temperatures in Denver to drop by more than 50 degrees in 24 hours. It was 86 degrees there on Thursday afternoon; It was 33 degrees on Friday afternoon and it was snowing.

Extremely warm air swelled in front of the front, which is ready to break dozens of records on the east coast on Saturday, where temperatures could rise to almost 100 degrees.