7 tornadoes confirmed in Michigan storms; 5 killed

At least seven tornadoes touched down in Michigan as part of severe storms powered by strong winds that killed five people, while downing trees, tearing roofs off buildings and leaving hundreds of thousands of customers without power, officials said.

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The National Weather Service on Friday said an EF-2 tornado with a maximum wind speed of 201 kilometers per hour struck Lansing, the state capital, killing one person Thursday night and injuring three others.

Lansing Police Department spokesperson Jordan Gulkis said an 84-year-old woman died after a tree fell on a home. Firefighters extricated the woman from the home, but she was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The weather service also confirmed that an EF-1 tornado with winds of 145 kph crossed from Ingham County into the western edge of adjacent Livingston County on Thursday night.

Four other EF-1 tornadoes were reported in Belleville and Gibraltar in Wayne County, and in South Rockwood and near Newport in Monroe County.

A weaker EF-0 tornado with peak winds of 128 kph was on the ground for less than two miles in Wayne County's Canton Township, west of Detroit, the weather service said. That tornado caused a tree to fall into a house, said meteorologist Sara Schultz.