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EF1 tornado in Sanilac County, Michigan

Tornado July 26, 2025 · Sanilac County, Michigan

EF1
Rating
1.7 mi
Path length
100 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The tornado touched down west of Maple Grove Road and south of

Richmondville Road. Based on drone footage from the Sanilac County

Sheriff, it was determined that the tornado started along the

southwest edge of a sugar beet field. The tornado then tracked

slightly north moving across an adjacent corn field. As the

tornado moved east, tree damage was noted on either side of Maple

Grove Road. Numerous large tree limbs were snapped and carried 50

to 100 yards to the east and northeast. The top of a large pine

tree was torn off a nearby tree and impaled a semi- truck. A few

vehicles were picked up by the tornado, moved about 15 to 20 yards

and pivoted by about 180 degrees. A nearby large farm building

sustained damage to the back wall and lost a few roof panels.

These roof panels were found approximately 1000 yards to the east

in a nearby wheat field. Numerous vehicles sustained damage, with

a few blown out windows and a large camper was flipped on its

side. The tornado continued east and moved over mainly farm

fields, resulting in damage to corn and sugar beet crops. A

distinct path, about 50 yards wide, of corn was flattened in a

convergent pattern across these farm fields. The continued path

across sugar beet fields was less discernible on the ground, but

more visible in aerial footage from the Michigan State Police.

After crossing numerous farm fields, the tornado continued east

and impacted another property near Loree Road, where a large

machine shed and small shed were destroyed. Debris was scattered

into the field crossing Loree Road. The tornado continued to move

east, but quickly dissipated after causing some minor tree damage

closer to Richmondville Road. Maximum winds were estimated at 95 mph.

The wider storm

Several low-topped supercells developed along a warm front during the afternoon hours of July 26th, 2025, one of which produced a tornado.

Began near Deckerville Lamont A (43.5691, -82.6846).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1269910. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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