ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — A strong storm powered by winds of up to 75 mph in Michigan downed trees, tore roofs off buildings and left hundreds of thousands of customers without power. The National Weather Service said Friday some of the damage may have been caused by two tornadoes.
A woman and two young children died in a two-vehicle crash as it was raining Thursday night, a spokesperson for the Kent County Sheriff's office said.
“There was two vehicles traveling toward each other. One hydroplaned on water and it was occupied by four people,” Sgt. Eric Brunner told WZZM-TV. He said at least two other people were injured in the crash.
In Ingham County, where there was a report of a possible tornado, the sheriff's office said Friday that more than 25 vehicles along Interstate 96 were severely damaged, with one confirmed fatality and several people severely injured.
Trees were uprooted, and some roofs collapsed. Many roads were closed due to trees and power lines that had fallen. The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids said officials would be in the field Friday conducting damage surveys on two suspected tornadoes, in Kent and Ingham counties.
Part of the roof collapsed and shingles were ripped off an adult foster care facility near Williamston, in Ingham County.
“Once I felt that sucking, I could just feel the power of it, and I could feel it all shaking, I could feel the roof shaking and coming apart,” James Gale, a caretaker of 14 people . told WXYZ-TV. He said the ceiling was gone from one woman's room and she was taken to a hospital. Others were taken by buses to another facility.

The overnight storms caused power outages across Michigan, concentrated in the Detroit area. Later in the day, after severe storms in the western part of the state, more than 100,000 homes and businesses were in the dark across Michigan, according to poweroutage.us.
“We were getting rainfall rates above an inch an hour, which is pretty significant,” said Brian Cromwell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Detroit.
Cromwell added that more severe thunderstorms with torrential rains were possible over the region Thursday evening.
Up to 8 inches of rain (20 centimeters) also hit some areas of north-central Ohio, according to Brian Mitchell with the National Weather Service in Cleveland. The northeast part of the state saw at least 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) from midday Wednesday into Thursday morning, with winds reaching up to 60 mph (37 kph) in some areas.
Lorain County, which received around 6 inches (15.2 centimeters) of rain, canceled its county fair Thursday due to “storms, flooding, closed roads and damage.”
In Lakewood, Ohio, 10 people were rescued from seven cars on a section of Interstate 90 on Wednesday night after their vehicles got stuck in the water that reached to the windows, Capt. Gary Stone said. The highway was shut down in both directions at one point. No one was hurt.
“It was a bad mess down there,” Stone said, noting that while Lakewood is often hit by bad storms coming off of Lake Erie, this kind of flooding was unheard of.
In Las Vegas, a fast-moving storm flooded parts of the city, including the strip. Police started getting calls shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday for help and rescued one person, Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Miguel Ibarra told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. But he said another person was believed to be missing.

Police attempted a rescue around 9:30 p.m., but were unsuccessful and were still searching, Ibarra said. He said there may be two other victims. A message seeking further comment was left with the department.
Accumulations were less than an inch, the National Weather Service said. More rain was in the forecast Thursday.
“We do have so much moisture" lingering from tropical storms Hilary and the remnants of Harold, meteorologist Jenn Varian said Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, it was the heat — not rainfall — causing problems in the Midwest and forcing children across the country to learn in hotter classrooms or go home early. Des Moines Public Schools in Iowa announced that is was dismissing classes three hours early on Thursday, the second day of the fall semester.
Schools officials said in a news release that most district buses are not air-conditioned, and that several drivers had to be monitored for heat exhaustion at the end of Wednesday’s routes. The forecast for Thursday was equally bad, with the National Weather Service predicting a high of 99 that would actually feel more like 109 because of the humidity.