Thunderstorm Wind — Kalamazoo, Michigan

2011-05-29 · near Adams Park, Kalamazoo, Michigan

Event narrative

The areas most impacted by the bowing segment of the line echo wave pattern fell within Brady and Wakeshma Townships along and south of E W Avenue between 33rd and 47th Streets. Hundreds of trees were either uprooted or snapped, with some snapped 15-20 feet above the ground. Additionally, some structures were damaged with this storm. A grain silo on the corner of E W Avenue and S 40th Street collapsed, and nearly a dozen farm buildings sustained significant roof damage. The damage path was approximately 8 miles long and 3 miles wide.

Wider weather episode

Severe thunderstorms developed during the mid to late afternoon hours of May 29 from Vicksburg east northeast to Battle Creek and Charlotte. An NWS storm survey found significant damage resulting from straight line wind damage resulting from severe thunderstorm winds of up to 85 to 100 mph. A state of emergency was declared for Calhoun county due to widespread wind damage.

The storms developed north of a warm front that separated mild weather to the north of it from hot weather south of the boundary. The storms traveled into northern Illinois just after noon, and then moved across southern lower Michigan between 2 pm and 6 pm. The storms strengthened as they reached far southern lower Michigan as they encountered warmer and more humid air. The NWS Grand Rapids storm survey teams found no conclusive evidence of any tornadoes from southern Kalamazoo county east northeast through Calhoun county and up into Eaton and Ingham counties. Nearly 40,000 people across Calhoun county lost power due to all the wind damage and lightning.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.0766, -85.4413)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 297222. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.