An EF1 tornado hit the Van Buren Township and Belleville areas Saturday during severe storms, while damage farther south in Monroe County was caused by straight-line winds, the National Weather Service confirmed Sunday.
Preliminary storm surveys conducted by the weather service found the tornado developed as strong thunderstorms moved through southeast Michigan.
NWS officials said Sunday that the tornado started at about 5:46 p.m. on Saturday south of Martz Road between Rawsonville and Hoeft roads in Van Buren Township. It traveled northeast along Hull Road, crossed Sumpter Road, and lifted off before reaching Savage Road in Belleville.
The agency estimates the tornado was about 200 yards wide with winds of about 100 mph, and its path was about 3.25 miles long.
It said that the greatest concentration of damage was along and just south of Hull Road between Elwell and Bak roads. The damage included multiple uprooted trees, snapped utility poles, and a barn’s wall was blown out.
The National Weather Service had issued multiple tornado warnings across southeast Michigan as the storms swept through the region. A tornado was seen just before 6 p.m. Saturday over Belleville.
No injuries were reported, said NWS meteorologist Megan Varcie.
Elsewhere, straight-line winds cause damage
Damage reported in the Whiteford Township and Lambertville areas was determined to be caused by straight-line winds rather than tornadic activity. Those winds can still be powerful, often exceeding 60 mph, and are capable of snapping trees, damaging roofs and knocking out power.
The storms prompted multiple tornado warnings across the region Saturday evening, with radar indicating rotation in several cells moving northeast at a rapid pace. Communities including Dearborn, Taylor, Monroe and parts of Macomb and Oakland counties were placed under warnings as the storms tracked through the area.
The weather service said Sunday that additional details from its storm surveys, including the tornado’s exact path length, width and peak wind speeds, will be released once assessments are complete.
About 14,000 customers lost power because of high winds Saturday, DTE Energy spokesperson Colleen Rosso said. Less than 500 people remained without power Sunday evening.
Disaster relief requested for tornadic storms
Saturday’s tornado warnings came after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently asked President Donald Trump to declare a major disaster in three southwest Michigan counties following a series of deadly tornadoes that left four people dead, injured others and caused widespread property damage. If approved, the declaration would make residents eligible for federal aid to assist with recovery.
Whitmer said aid would help communities access resources for home repairs, temporary housing and other recovery needs. She noted that while the state has already declared an emergency, federal assistance is critical to support long-term rebuilding efforts.
The National Weather Service confirmed that four tornadoes struck the region on March 6, marking Michigan’s deadliest weather event in nearly 50 years. The most severe was an EF3 tornado in Branch County’s Union City area that killed three people and injured 12, while a separate EF1 tornado in Cass County claimed the life of a 12-year-old boy.
Additional storms included an EF2 tornado in St. Joseph County’s Three Rivers and an EF0 tornado in Calhoun County. Preliminary damage assessments across Branch, Cass and St. Joseph counties found 33 homes destroyed, 74 with major damage and more than 200 with minor damage, though officials say the true toll may be higher.
Whitmer’s request estimates that roughly $1.4 million in federal assistance is needed to support recovery, including funds for temporary housing, repairs and other needs. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will review the request and make a recommendation to the president, with officials emphasizing that the scale of damage exceeds the state’s ability to respond without federal support.
kberg@detroitnews.com
Staff Writer Charles E. Ramirez contributed.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Van Buren Township.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: EF1 tornado confirmed in Michigan’s Van Buren Township
Reporting by Kara Berg, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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