Weather

Two people are dead and dozens more injured after a rare tornado hit a small northern Michigan community. Authorities say the two people in their 70s lived at a mobile home park in Gaylord that was among the first sites hit by the tornado, which was rated an EF3 by the National Weather Service on a scale of 0-5. 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.

A rare northern Michigan tornado that hammered a small town has killed at least one person and injured more than 40. Munson Healthcare spokesman Brian Lawson said Friday that he had no details about the person who was killed or the conditions of those who were hurt by the tornado that rushed through Gaylord, a city of about 4,200, at about 3:45 p.m. Mike Klepadlo, who owns a car repair shop in Gaylord, says he and his workers took cover in a bathroom, and that he feels lucky to be alive because it blew the back off the building. A National Weather Service forecaster said extreme winds are uncommon in that part of Michigan because the Great Lakes suck energy out of storms, especially in spring when the lakes are very cold.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's forecast for summer calls for a whole lot of heat without much rain to provide relief.

More than 5,000 firefighters are battling multiple wildland blazes in dry, windy weather across the Southwest. The fires include one that has destroyed dozens of structures in western Texas and another that is picking up steam again in New Mexico. Evacuation orders remained in place Thursday for residents near fires in Texas, Colorado and New Mexico. Dangerous fire weather was forecast to continue through Friday, especially in New Mexico where the largest U.S. fire has burned for more than a month. The governor expects the number of structures that have burned to rise to more than 1,000. That fire has burned more than 473 square miles.

A deputy in South Carolina whose police van was swept away by floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, drowning two women seeking mental health treatment trapped in a cage in the back has been sentenced to 18 years in prison. A Marion County jury found former Horry County deputy Stephen Flood guilty of two counts of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of reckless homicide. Forty-five-year-old Wendy Newton and 43-year-old Nicolette Green had been involuntarily committed for mental help, but weren't dangerous. Prosecutors say Flood was reckless by driving the van into floodwaters in September 2018 with the helpless women in the back. The van was pinned against a guardrail where Flood and a second deputy could not get them out.

Federal forecasters say Hawaii and the Central Pacific basin should expect two to four hurricanes, tropical depressions or tropical storms this year. The annual National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration outlook predicts there is about a 60% chance of a below-average season. The Central Pacific region sees about four to five tropical cyclones on average annually. Hurricane season in Hawaii lasts from June 1 until the end of November. August and September are historically active months. Officials said below-average sea temperatures associated with La Nina east of Hawaii where storms form factored into this year’s prediction. The last major hurricane to strike the state was Hurricane Iniki in 1992.