EF2 Tornado — Genesee, Michigan

2007-08-24 · near Fenton, Genesee, Michigan

Event narrative

This is the same tornado that began in Livingston County's Cohoctah Township. The tornado crossed into Genesee County approximately 3 miles west southwest of Fenton at 1649EST. The City of Fenton sustained the greatest amount of damage where the tornado path widened to approximately one-quarter mile, including the snapping and uprooting of hundreds of trees, de-roofing of both residential and municipal structures, and the partial collapse of a large retail structure near the intersection of Owen Road and U.S. 23. Of the approximately 250 homes/buildings damaged in Fenton, two were destroyed and five sustained major damage. The tornado was rated as EF2 in Fenton with wind speeds estimated at approximately 130 MPH. The average path width in Genesee County was 350 yards. One person in Fenton received minor injuries after being struck by flying glass. The tornado exited Genesee County one mile east of Fenton at 1700EST and then continued in Oakland County for another 5.5 miles.

Wider weather episode

Four tornadoes moved through portions of Southeast Michigan on August 24th, leading to an estimated $25M in total damages. One long-track tornado cut a path of EF0 to EF2 damage across Livingston, Geneseee, and Oakland Counties. Fenton was the hardest hit area, prompting the Governor of Michigan to declare a state of emergency there. Tornadoes also touched down in eastern Shiawassee County (rated as EF0), northwestern Washtenaw County (rated as EF0), and southwestern Lapeer County (rated as EF1). Thousands of trees were lost to the tornadoes. Although hundreds of homes and buildings were damaged, many destroyed, remarkably only one person was injured (minor cuts from flying glass) and there were no direct fatalities. One man died (indirect) of a heart attack during the cleanup process in Fenton.

In addition to the tornadoes, there were widespread reports of severe thunderstorm wind gusts producing downed trees, limbs, and power lines. The hardest hit areas with respect to severe thunderstorm winds included areas around Flint, Lapeer, St. Clair, Chelsea, Monroe, and many locations in Livingston, Oakland, Macomb, Wayne and Lenawee Counties.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.7834, -83.7546)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 57971. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.