Public Media from Michigan State University

Police report 2nd death from tornado in northern Michigan

The tornado hit Gaylord Friday afternoon.
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Police say a second person died in a rare tornado that hit a small community in northern Michigan.

Lt. Derrick Carroll says the person was in their 70s and lived in a mobile home park in Gaylord. No other details have been released.

A Michigan State Police Aviation team took photos of the devastation in Nottingham Forest Mobile Home Park in Gaylord.
Courtesy

Another person in their 70s who also lived at the park was reported to have died Friday evening, just a few hours after the tornado struck.

More than 40 people were injured. Gaylord is roughly 230 miles northwest of Detroit.

The Otsego County fire chief says there's “probably 95% destruction” at the park, with mobile homes “picked up and turned over.”

Experts say extreme spring winds are uncommon in the area because the Great Lakes typically suck energy out of storms.

The National Weather Service has rated the tornado an EF3 with max winds of 140 mph.

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