More than 8,000 Upper Peninsula residents were without power Thursday morning after violent wind gusts in excess of 60 mph ripped through much of the U.P. causing outages and cancellations.

On Wednesday the National Weather Service issued a High Wind Warning which warned of 35 mph Southwest winds with gusts reaching 60 mph, with waves exceeding 20-feet being reported.

The Upper Peninsula Power Company reported that over 60% of their customers experienced an outage in Iron County. Between Iron County and Marquette County nearly 6,000 UPPCO customers were without power as of Thursday morning. Houghton and Keweenaw counties combined had over 2,000 homes without power.

The winds were far more devastating outside the Upper Peninsula.

Authorities say at least five people died when a powerful storm system swept across the Great Plains and Midwest, spawning hurricane-force winds and likely tornadoes in Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota.

Officials in Kansas say a 65-year-old man was killed Wednesday night when a 40-foot tree fell on him outside his home in southeastern Minnesota. The Iowa State Patrol says a semitrailer was struck by high winds and rolled onto its side in eastern Iowa, killing the driver.

The Kansas Highway Patrol says three people died in traffic accidents Wednesday due to blowing dust.

More than 20 unconfirmed tornadoes were reported Wednesday, mostly in eastern Nebraska and Iowa.