At least 4 tornadoes touched down in Southwest Michigan Tuesday afternoon/evening with additional touchdowns in northern Indiana and western Ohio.

Called the “Portage Tornado”, this twister crossed US 131, but stayed south of I-94. It has been rated a high end EF2 (almost EF3) with maximum winds of 135 mph. The tornado was on the ground for 22 minutes and covered 11 miles, traveling at roughly 30 mph.

The tornado passed just south of the Kalamazoo Airport. Two mobile home parks were impacted. I am sometimes asked if tornadoes somehow seek out mobile homes. No, they don’t, but damage can be more significant to a mobile home. The one we showed on TV that had been destroyed appeared to be sitting up on concrete blocks, where the wind could get underneath them. I recommend that all mobile homes have secure tie-downs and that mobile home parks should consider having a more secure shelter where residents could ride out the storm.

The above pic. (Driftwood Drive, Colon Township – courtesy of the Michigan State Police. As I write this early Thursday morning, the official NWS summary of the Centreville tornado has not been released. Here’s what they say: “

.St. Joseph County into Branch County MI

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 detials will not be released at this time. A survey team plans
to assess St. Joseph county on May 9th."

Resident Darline Trine said, "I shut the window and I started seeing stuff fly past it. Trampoline, green houses, ball hoops, everything."

Like the Portage tornado, the Centreville Tornado was at the top end of the EF2 rating.

Gov. Whitmer declared a state of emergency Tuesday night for Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Branch and Cass Counties. That frees up state resources to help local authorities clean up and rebuild.

Here’s a summary of the Dowagiac Tornado:

This tornado was half a mile wide in the Twin Lakes area and traveled nearly 12 miles in 27 minutes, at roughly 26 mph. Like the Portage Tornado, this twister barely missed an airport.

Here’s details of the 4th Michigan confirmed tornado:

.Union Lake MI EF1...

Rating:                 EF1
Estimated Peak Wind:    95 mph
Path Length /statute/:  1.09 miles
Path Width /maximum/:   100 yards
Fatalities:             0
Injuries:               0

Start Date:             05/07/2024
Start Time:             06:07 PM EDT
Start Location:         3 SSW Union City / Branch County / MI
Start Lat/Lon:          42.0248 / -85.1797

End Date:               05/08/2024
End Time:               06:08 PM EDT
End Location:           2 SSW Union City / Branch County / MI
End Lat/Lon:            42.031 / -85.1602

Survey Summary:
Brief secondary tornado developed here as larger tornado
dissipated northwest. Some evidence of larger RFD wind damage
inbetween tracks and just north and east of here.

This was a brief tornado that traveled just 1.1 miles, but did manage to ramp up to EF1 intensity with peak winds of 95 mph.  

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I have a busy day today (Thursday)...I have both a lunch meeting and a dinner to attend.  We also have two birthdays in our family today (May 9). I'll update this thread when I can.  Have an awesome day!