F2 Tornado — Livingston, Michigan

2001-05-21 · near Hartland, Livingston, Michigan

Event narrative

A tornado developed near Hartland High School and Lake Walden, and moved north parallel to US-23, eventually crossing that busy highway between Clyde and Faussett Roads. There was a brief break in the damage path south of Center Road, but the tornado reformed again north of Center Road, this time back on the west side of US-23. The tornado continued north into Genesee County.Most of the damage to trees and structures was consistent with a weak tornado. However, near and north of the Majestic Golf Course, damage was considerably more intense, justifying an F2 rating. Seventy vehicles in the golf course parking lot were damaged (rolled, tossed, or struck by debris), with twelve of them totaled. Thirty five golf carts were destroyed, and a pontoon boat used to transport golfers was flipped. A large piece of a wooden footbridge was tossed through the enclosed back porch of the clubhouse. An amputee organization was having a golf outing that afternoon. Thankfully, the golf carts were equipped with G.P.S. units, and the course sent a message out on those units that a tornado was approaching. Only one person on the course suffered a minor injury (exact injury undisclosed). Three homes were destroyed near Clyde Road and US-23, as were a party store and a towing company that shared a building. A man at the party store suffered a minor hand injury, and two vehicles at the towing company were totaled. Several hundred trees were downed in this general area.Further north, several cars and semis were flipped when the tornado crossed US-23. One driver of a semi suffered a head injury when his truck overturned, though he was not seriously hurt. The TRW plant on Center Road lost a small part of its roof. Several cars in the parking of Tyrone Hills Golf Course had windows blown out. As the tornado moved across agricultural land, three cows were killed.

Wider weather episode

A warm front moved slowly north into southeast Michigan, ushering in warmer and more humid air. Scattered thunderstorms developed south of the warm front around midday. They storms also moved north, at a faster pace than the warm front. A few of these storms produced tornadoes when they caught up to the warm front.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.5333, -83.6167)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5244498. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.