TornadoLookup

Home / Michigan / Oscoda

F2 tornado in Oscoda County, Michigan

Tornado July 3, 1999 · Oscoda County, Michigan

F2
Rating
16.0 mi
Path length
120 yd
Path width
2
Injuries
$1.5M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 120 yards (0.07 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F2 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F2 meant considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted; the scale paired it with winds of 113–157 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

Continuation of Montmorency County tornado. Most extensive area of damage occurred here. See narrative below. Tornado continued into Alcona county.

The wider storm

A thunderstorm developed rapidly over the city of Gaylord around 7 pm. The storm brought only very heavy rains to the city of Gaylord, then raced southeast toward Lewiston. By 720 pm, the storm was moving at 50 mph and strong rotation was noted, prompting a Tornado Warning. An F1 tornado formed just minutes after passing southeast of Lewiston. It then moved out of Montmorency county into Oscoda county.By 732 pm, the storm strengthened to an F2 and reached the city of Comins, cutting it in two. It completely destroyed a Parsonage, Mennonite Church, Township Hall, Fire Department and Post Office within the town of Comins. The storm also destroyed 10 homes and damaged 45 others, in addition to destroying 4 businesses and damaging 4 others. The park facilities on the east side of Comins also sustained substantial damage.The tornado continued out of Comins as an F1, continuing into Alcona county where 16 homes were damaged along the path from the county line to Barton City. The tornado lifted in the vicinity of Barton City around 8 pm.Extensive tree damage was also noted along the 20 mile damage path of the tornado, with path widths ranging from 60 to 120 yards.

Began near Comins (44.8700, -84.1500).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5700783. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.