F2 Tornado — Oscoda, Michigan

1999-07-03 · near Comins, Oscoda, Michigan

Event narrative

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

Wider weather episode

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.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (44.8700, -84.1500)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5700783. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.