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EF1 tornado in Ionia County, Michigan

Tornado April 10, 2017 · Ionia County, Michigan

EF1

Rating

5.3 mi

Whole path

220 yd

Path width

$210K

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Kent County → Ionia County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 220 yards (0.12 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

An EF1 tornado over extreme southeastern Kent county continued to move east northeast into far southwestern Ionia county. It took down several tree limbs before dissipating.

The wider storm

An isolated EF1 tornado developed over extreme southeastern Kent county during the evening hours of April 10th. Dozens of large trees were snapped or uprooted and three barns were heavily damaged. The damage began on 100th St just east of Alden Nash Ave and then continued to the east-northeast, crossing Wingeier Ave where a barn lost metal roofing. One metal section was carried 0.6 miles by the tornado and landed in a field.

The tornado damage intensified as the funnel narrowed and crossed 92nd St in the vicinity of the Tyler Creek Golf Course, where a swath of trees were snapped and uprooted. Peak winds in this area were estimated at 90 mph. The tornado crossed Freeport Ave and Keim Road. It then crossed Hastings Road with peak winds estimated around 65 mph, taking down large tree limbs. The damage ended around Bell Road north of Keim Road. There were also isolated reports of large hail and wind damage across portions of western lower Michigan.

Began near Elmdale (42.8065, -85.3090).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 692197. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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