Residents across parts of Mid-Michigan are cleaning up after fast-developing storms damaged buildings, knocked down branches and raised questions about whether a brief tornado or landspout touched down Tuesday.
The National Weather Service has not officially confirmed a tornado, though meteorologist Bruce Smith said the damage may point to a “probable tornado.” The agency does not currently plan to conduct a storm survey.
In Eaton County’s Oneida Township, at least one roof was damaged and a storage building near the township hall collapsed.
Township Supervisor Rick Jones says the situation could have been far worse.
“Had it hit the township building, it could have killed four people that were working,” Jones said. “I just thank God that I'm alive, and the other three employees that were working at the township hall.”
A few miles away in Grand Ledge, residents at the Ravines mobile home park are also dealing with fallen branches and debris. Josette Tabor, who lives in the park, described how quickly the storm intensified.
“Suddenly the wind picked up really strong,” Tabor said. “And I have windows here in my office, and I looked out, and there were branches swirling around.”
Farther east, reports of funnel clouds or possible landspouts surfaced in Shiawassee, Saginaw, and Genesee counties, including near Freeland and Birch Run. Damage assessments in those areas are still underway.
To help clarify what happened, Smith said that NWS received scattered reports of damage across multiple counties.
“I’ve gotten a few storm reports over there in Eaton County, extending up into Clinton County as well, of some tree limb damage, some wire damage and a storage barn being damaged,” Smith said. “It went to the northeast and produced some more damage up into Saginaw County.”
As residents compared what they saw, some questioned whether the storms produced tornadoes.
Jones said he later heard storms had moved toward Shiawassee County, where tornado warnings were issued.
“It was reported the same storm surge ended up in Shiawassee County, where they got tornado warnings,” Jones said. “We, however, had no warning.”
Smith said the Grand Rapids office did not issue warnings for the Eaton County damage area, though warnings were issued elsewhere as storms moved across the region.
“These things spun up very quickly," Smith said. "And were there and gone before we had a chance to issue the warnings.”
Other residents believe the damage was caused by a landspout — a weaker, short-lived type of tornado. Tabor said storm spotters online, like the Michigan Storm Chasers Facebook page, reached the same conclusion.
“I belong to the Michigan Storm Chasers Group – they said that it was a land spout tornado,” she said.
Jones said an insurance adjuster who inspected the collapsed storage building shared a similar assessment.
“We also had an insurance man come out,” Jones said. “He looked at the damage and said it certainly looked like a tornado to him.”
While the NWS has not classified the event, Smith said the evidence points toward a likely — but unconfirmed — tornado.
“We haven't officially classified it as a tornado,” Smith said. “I would say probable tornado, but nothing confirmed yet today.”
He added that more severe weather is expected in the coming days.
“It's going to be a week of very active weather,” Smith said. “We’ve got the potential for some really strong storms tomorrow night, and again Thursday night, along with a lot of heat and humidity.”