Deadly Thunderstorms From Summer-Autumn Transition Kills 5 as Cars Flip Over to Strong Winds in Michigan

In Michigan, during the transition from summer to autumn, five people were killed when cars were flipped over by strong winds during deadly thunderstorms.

Deadly Thunderstorm From Summer to Autumn Transition

In the Northeast, the last meteorological summer weekend will feel like autumn as a more pleasant air mass moves in after powerful thunderstorms.

More than 600,000 people in the Midwest and upper Ohio Valley lost power on Thursday night as a result of the devastating thunderstorms that heralded the change in weather patterns and caused wind damage.

After a cold front sweeps through the area on Friday, a dramatic shift in humidity and temperature will make for a refreshing last weekend of August for millions of people. Some parts of the Midwest and Southeast, which have lately seen some of the hottest summer temperatures, will also experience milder weather.

A change must take place to get rid of the muggy summer air mass before the advent of autumn air. However, this shift is causing deadly thunderstorms.

Strong Winds Flipped Over Cars in Michigan, 5 Died

A series of severe thunderstorms passed over Michigan on Thursday night, causing at least five fatalities and several injuries from car accidents, trees falling on homes, and cars being flipped over by powerful winds. Later that evening, those storms continued over northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, producing wind gusts of up to 70 mph.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Michigan and Ohio were also still without electricity as of Friday morning. In the places that have been affected the worst, some outages can go through the weekend.

In Michigan, there may have been at least one tornado touchdown. To ascertain whether any twisters happened, the National Weather Service forecast office in Detroit will examine the damage.

Severe Weather Caps the Week

As the cooler air mass moves further south, additional states in the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic are in danger of severe weather to conclude the week and begin the weekend. On Friday, southern Ohio, eastern Kentucky, northern North Carolina, and southern Virginia will be at the highest risk for severe storms.

On Saturday, there is a lower danger of heavy storms, but the risk region will move further south to encompass more of the Tennessee Valley along with the Southeast, including Nashville and Charlotte. The storms will halt the rise of temperatures to almost 100 degrees, so the risk area will now include more of the Tennessee Valley and Southeast.

According to weather experts, the last weekend of August, and hence meteorological summer, is expected to be more like the first few days of October in the Northeast. Observational autumn begins at 2:50 AM EDT on September 23, weeks before meteorological autumn, which starts on Friday, September 1.

A cold front brings relief from heat in the Great Lakes and Northeast this weekend. High pressure follows. Temperatures that reach the 80s-90s will struggle to hit the 70s by the weekend, even in Boston and NYC. Interior Northeast sees September-like temperatures coming in. Meanwhile, humidity drops as Canadian air arrives with some showers, possibly Saturday to Sunday.