The National Weather Service office will investigate eight tornado reports from severe weather events in southwest Michigan that occurred within 90 minutes of each other on Friday afternoon.
According to NWS storm reports, the first report of a tornado came at 3:11 p.m. in Edwardsburg, where a house was damaged. The next report of a tornado came at 3:18 p.m. in Juno Lake, where a tree was reported down.
Then, starting at 3:46 p.m and until 3:52 p.m., four tornado reports were made from Three Rivers. The first report included a video of a tornado hitting the Menards store and tearing off a portion of the roof at 3:46 p.m.
At 3:48 p.m., a video was taken near the Three Rivers Waste Management facility, showing a tornado on the ground. Another report was made at 3:50 p.m. on the north side of Three Rivers by storm chasers and trained spotters. At 3:52 p.m., a tornado report was made on the southwest side of the city by storm chasers and Emergency Management. There were numerous reports of significant damage on the southwest side of Three Rivers.
About 46 minutes later, two tornado reports were made in Union City, one near Union Lake and another northwest of the city.
Multiple reports of hail were made in the areas of the tornado, NWS officials said.
At least four people were killed and 12 others injured when tornadoes ripped through southwest Michigan Friday afternoon, according to the sheriffs in Branch and Cass counties.
On Saturday, the National Weather Service office in Northern Indiana is planning to conduct storm surveys across portions of Cass, St. Joseph, and Branch counties in Michigan in connection with damage from a severe thunderstorm that moved from Edwardsburg to Three Rivers and Union City on Friday afternoon.
The start time of the survey will depend on weather conditions in the morning, NWS officials said, as additional showers and thunderstorms are expected overnight into Saturday morning, which may make it unsafe to assess the damage until the rain passes.
jchambers@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: 8 reports detail 90 minutes of deadly tornadic winds in Michigan
Reporting by Jennifer Chambers, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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