Severe Weather Linked to Fatalities of Three Children in Michigan and a Man in an Amish Buggy in Indiana

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—A tree collapsed onto a van in Michigan, resulting in the tragic deaths of three children during a fierce storm that hit the region over the weekend. The storm also contributed to the death of an 84-year-old man involved in an Amish buggy accident in Indiana, authorities reported on Monday.

In the meantime, more severe weather was anticipated across parts of the Southeastern United States.

Freezing rain and high winds over the weekend took down numerous trees and power lines. Utilities were in the process of restoring electricity in Michigan; however, approximately 276,000 outages were still reported by Monday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us. Indiana and Wisconsin managed to reduce their outages to around 80,000.

The victims from the fallen tree in Kalamazoo County included a 2-year-old girl, her 4-year-old brother, and their 11-year-old cousin. Three additional individuals in the van sustained injuries on Sunday, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) west of Detroit.

“There was no way for the family to have avoided this,” Sheriff Richard Fuller stated to reporters, noting that the tree struck the area of the van where the children were seated.

“The size of the tree was such that it spanned two lanes of traffic and extended about 12 feet beyond the opposite side of the vehicle,” the sheriff added.

The region was under a severe thunderstorm warning at that moment, part of several alerts issued in southern Michigan on Sunday.

At approximately the same time, an Amish buggy in Middlebury, Indiana, overturned due to powerful winds, leading to the death of Lonnie Yoder, according to police.

The northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan was in chaos on Monday, with thousands of downed trees caused by the freezing rain that occurred on Saturday. Authorities advised people to avoid traveling. The Alpena News reported that they were unable to publish due to power outages affecting all of Alpena County.

The Mackinac Bridge, connecting Michigan’s two peninsulas over a span of 5 miles (8 kilometers), was closed due to concerns about ice falling onto vehicles from the bridge’s cables and towers.

In Valparaiso, Indiana, a tractor trailer was believed to have been blown over by strong crosswinds on Sunday afternoon, resulting in the death of the driver at Pratt Industries, as reported by the Porter County sheriff’s office. Jagbir Singh, 34, from Ontario, Canada, was found outside of the passenger area.

No injuries were reported despite a warehouse in Elkhart, Indiana, being destroyed, as stated by WSBT-TV.

In southwest Ohio, high winds caused damage, toppling a church steeple, affecting homes, and overturning campers Sunday night. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

Damage from the storm was also evident in several Tennessee counties, including Maury and Humphreys, as reported by WSMV-TV. Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis noted extensive damage throughout the county, including a house that had its roof torn off with the homeowners trapped inside but unharmed.

The National Weather Service warned that clusters of thunderstorms with strong to severe wind gusts and possible tornadoes were moving across much of the Southeast on Monday. In Dothan, Alabama, five students sustained minor injuries when part of their school’s gymnasium roof collapsed due to the storm, according to news reports.

Flood watches have been issued for Wednesday through Sunday across 11 states, ranging from northeast Texas to Arkansas and extending towards the western edge of West Virginia. The weather service cautioned that up to 1 foot (30.5 centimeters) of rain in some regions “is not out of the question,” warning that this could lead to life-threatening flooding situations.