FENWICK, Mich. — At Hulls Dairy Farm in Fenwick, high winds from the storms on the night of April 14 tore through the property, destroying multiple structures and sending over 100 cows running loose.
The National Weather Service confirmed this destructive storm as an EF-1 tornado with max winds of 110 mph. It touched down in Montcalm County around Fenwick and damaged almost every major building on Hulls farm.
There were two other tornadoes confirmed in West Michigan from that night, EF-0 tornado in Allegan County that began southwest of Allegan, and an EF-1 tornado that tracked from near Otsego in Allegan County and lifted near Hickory Corners in Barry County.
The storms struck Tuesday night, and by Wednesday evening, the cows were gathered and transported to a nearby farm in North Ionia for temporary housing so clean-up on the farm could begin.
After weeks of recovery, the crew at Hulls Farm spent hours this morning, May 13, transporting the cows back to the farm by trailers.
The cows are back home, but the work isn't done yet.
"It's been a crazy time. It's a slow process, but we've been focusing on getting the milk barns back in shape because we are missing a full barn yet. So we've been trying to renovate some of these other barns so we can hold all the cows," Hulls’ Co-Owner Janet Hull said. She shared how thrilled they are to have their cows back on the farm, and how deeply grateful they are to the community members who helped make it possible.
"People have made donations which are going to help immensely with the rebuilding of the barns and roofings and stuff like that," Hull said. "It's just amazing how the community has pulled together and helped us. We really appreciate it."
WATCH: Hundreds of cows return to tornado-damaged farm
Those April tornadoes came as a shock to many, as peak tornado season doesn't usually begin in West Michigan until May.
Michigan averages between 13 to 16 tornadoes per year. See the image below for the number of yearly tornado reports over the last 6 years.
If it feels like we’ve seen an unusual amount of severe weather over the past few months, you’re right. It’s been an especially active start to the season, and with 15 tornadoes already recorded in 2026, we’ve already reached our annual tornado average.
So what does this mean for the rest of the severe weather season?
Sometimes a busy spring leads to a busy summer, but that's not always the case. There's really no way to tell if the rest of the season will be busy or quieter. What the 2026 tornado count so far does show is that the window for severe weather is shifting and expanding.
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