WEST MICHIGAN — The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids and the National Weather Service in Northern Indiana have conducted numerous surveys in Southwest Michigan on Wednesday after severe weather struck on Tuesday. Both offices are still conducting surveys, so more information is likely as the week progresses.
As of now, there are three confirmed tornadoes in Southwest Michigan. An EF-2 tornado has been confirmed in Portage, an EF-1 tornado has been confirmed in Union City, and an EF-1 tornado has been confirmed in Dowagiac / Twin Lakes area.
EF-2 Tornado in Portage
After surveying the damage, there is now at least one confirmed tornado that hit parts of Kalamazoo county.
The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids has determined that an EF-2 tornado hit Portage, in Kalamazoo county. The peak estimated wind speed was 135 mph, making this a high-end EF-2 tornado. It traveled 11 miles, with a width of approximately 300 yards.
It began near South 10th Street and West R Avenue around 5:55 p.m. Tuesday, May 7. It was on the ground for 11 miles, ending around 6:17 p.m. north of East N Avenue, west of 31st Street.
In their summary, the National Weather Service stated:
The tornado touched down near the intersection of South 10th Street and West R Avenue and traveled east/northeast for around 11 miles until it lifted north of East N Avenue just west of 31st Street. Along the path, many homes had roof and/or siding damage. Two mobile home parks were impacted with several homes destroyed in each park. A number of business had significant damage along the path. Multiple apartment complexes were also impacted with apartments on Timbercreek Court seeing the most significant damage. Hundreds of trees were snapped and uprooted along the path. A large section of the roof of an industrial warehouse also collapsed near the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport.
A second tornado warning was issued on Tuesday. We are awaiting confirmation from the National Weather Service on whether this was a confirmed tornado.
EF-1 Tornado in Union City
The National Weather Service in Northern Indiana has confirmed an EF-1 tornado in Union City. The estimated peak wind speed was 95 mph, with a path length of 1.09 miles. The width of the path was 100 yards.
It touched down in Union City at 6:07 p.m. Tuesday, May 7. It was on the ground for just over one mile, remaining in Union City and eventually lifting at 6:08 p.m. Tuesday.
In their summary, the National Weather Service stated:
A brief EF-1 tornado developed southwest of Union City, MI as larger tornado dissipated to the northwest (rating on the larger tornado TBD). This tornado moved along W Girard Road between Babcock Rd and Arbogast Rd, destroying a machine shed and ripping out some of the anchor posts.
EF-1 Tornado in Dowagiac / Twin Lakes
The National Weather Service in Northern Indiana has confirmed an EF-1 tornado in the region of Dowagiac, Twin Lakes, and Decatur.
The estimated peak wind speed was 95 mph, on the ground for 11.83 miles. The path width was 950 yards. This tornado touched down at 5:11 p.m. Tuesday, May 7 in Dowagiac. It was on the ground until 5:38 p.m. Tuesday, ending in Decatur.
The National Weather Service stated the following in their report:
An EF-1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 95 mph occurred in the early evening of May 7th in Cass County, MI. The tornado touched down in a field just north of the Dowagiac Municipal Airport. The tornado did damage to trees along Middle Crossing Rd, even uprooting a few large trees onto homes in the area. The tornado continued northeast, where a power pole was snapped and a few center pivots were flipped in a field adjacent to the Amtrak railroad near the intersection of Gage Street and Atwood Road. The tornado reached its maximum width in the Twin Lakes area, where extensive damage to trees was noted on all sides of both lakes. Hundreds of trees of varying sizes were snapped and uprooted in Twin Lakes. The tornado continued northeast, snapping trees on Dewey Lake Street. Additional damage to a barn was noted on Wickett Road. The tornado dissipated near the Cass/Van Buren County line.
The National Weather Service also stated the following about another survey location between St. Joseph and Branch counties:
St Joseph County Emergency Management has been assessing damage in a swath from roughly south of Centreville northeast to north of Colon and to the St. Joseph/Branch county line. Branch county EMA officials and the NWS completed the survey of damage in NW Branch county from Havens Lake northeast to south of Union Lake. The strongest damage found in Branch county was consistent with EF2 damage and estimated winds of 130 mph. Since the track is not finalized with damage in St. Joseph county, the final rating and track details will not be released at this time. A survey team plans to assess St. Joseph county on May 9th.
How are tornadoes classified?
The rating and the strength of tornadoes are determined by storm damage and wind speed, which is placed on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale.
There were numerous reports of mobile homes flipped, flying debris, large fallen trees, downed power lines, damage to major companies, and large hail.
