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F0 tornado in Oakland County, Michigan

Tornado May 21, 2001 · Oakland County, Michigan

Rating

1.0 mi

Path length

150 yd

Path width

$75K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

NOAA recorded where this tornado touched down but not where it lifted, so it appears as a point. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F0 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F0 meant light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken; the scale paired it with winds of 40–72 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A weak tornado touched down near High Ridge Drive along the Kent Lake shoreline, in Kensington Metropark. There was a well-defined path of tree damage extending north-northwest to near the intersection of Pearson and Hickory Ridge Roads. A few structures were damaged, including a home struck by a falling tree, and a century-old barn was destroyed. An apartment complex lost gutters and shingles from its roof, and nearby playground equipment was thrown.

The wider storm

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.

Began near Milford (42.9167, -83.4500).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

5 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

F2 Livingston County F0 Lapeer County F0 Genesee County F0 Shiawassee County F0 Genesee County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5245995. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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