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EF1 tornado in Hillsdale County, Michigan

Tornado September 7, 2021 · Hillsdale County, Michigan

EF1
Rating
5.3 mi
Path length
450 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 450 yards (0.26 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

A weak tornado developed west of the intersection of S Bunn Road and Cole/Bankers Road, and moved quickly east along the north side of the road causing areas of significant tree damage east to Cambria Road. Two 1000 lb round hay bales were picked up from a field south of Bankers Road and thrown into a ditch and yard on the north side of the road. Several power poles were snapped in the area. It appears the tornado briefly lifted after crossing Cambria Road, but touched down again on the east side of S Hillsdale Road where several outbuildings and a silo were destroyed. The tornado intensified further as it moved through the Hillsdale Golf and Country Club where considerable, widespread tree damage, including several uprooted trees, occurred. The tornado quickly weakened as it moved across Baw Beese Lake with a few tree branches damaged along Oakwood Drive. No further damage was observed past this point. Maximum winds estimated at around 100 mph (EF-1) with a maximum width of around 450 yards.

The wider storm

A line of storms moved through southern MI well ahead of a cold front. These storms produced flooding rains over northern Berrien (training), and locally damaging wind gusts and small hail from Berrien County to Hillsdale County. There was also an EF1 tornado in Hillsdale County.

Began near Bankers (41.8982, -84.6931).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 985127. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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