At least one of yesterday’s tornadoes now has a complete damage assessment and has been given an Enhanced Fujita tornado strength rating. Here are the details on the first ranked tornado from yesterday’s severe storms in southwest Michigan.
The tornado gets into the strong category by being ranked as an EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita tornado strength ranking system. This is the tornado that hit the city of Portage in Kalamazoo County.
The National Weather Service at Grand Rapids sent meteorologists to the damage path for this tornado assessment.
The maximum wind was pegged at 135 mph. This is actually the top end of an EF2 tornado. Had they thought it was one mile per hour stronger it would have been ranked an even stronger EF3 tornado.
The tornado’s path length was 11 miles long. The tornado started around South 10th Street and West R Avenue a few miles southwest of Portage. Over the course of 22 minutes from 5:55 p.m. to 6:17 p.m. May 7 the tornado tracked across the Portage area and dissipated around East N Avenue West of 31st Street. This is about three miles northeast of Portage and a few miles east of Kalamazoo.
The tornado was 900 feet wide at one point.
There have been no fatalities reported with this tornado.
The National Weather Service reports a lot of damage with this strong EF2 tornado.
“Along the path, many homes had roof and/or siding damage. Two mobile home parks were impacted with several homes destroyed in each park. A number of business had significant damage along the path. Multiple apartment complexes were also impacted with apartments on Timbercreek Court seeing the most significant damage. Hundreds of trees were snapped and uprooted along the path. A large section of the roof of an industrial warehouse also collapsed near the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport,” according to the National Weather Service.
Portage storm damage
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Elaine Hadley is a dedicated journalist covering the ever-evolving landscape of U.S. news. With a keen interest in politics and a commitment to uncovering the truth, she provides insightful commentary and in-depth analysis on domestic issues. When not reporting, Elaine enjoys exploring the diverse cultures and landscapes of the United States.
