Weather

Bill Steffen's storm recap: Eight tornadoes confirmed in Michigan

Five were rated EF1 and three were rated EF0.

by ONN Staff

Updated April 16, 2026

This map shows the plotted location of tornadoes, large hail and wind damage in the contiguous U.S. from 7 a.m. Tuesday, April 14, to 7 a.m. Wednesday, April 15.

There were 21 reported tornadoes in four states, including eight confirmed tornadoes in southern Lower Michigan. National Weather Service storm survey teams found five locations in Michigan that were hit with EF1 tornadoes (winds of 86-110 mph winds) and three locations where EF0 tornadoes occurred (winds of 65-85 mph winds).

There were also confirmed areas that were hit by hail thunderstorm winds of up to 80 mph. It looks like every acre of southern Lower Michigan experienced thunderstorms, with some of the storms containing frequent lightning, continuous thunder and heavy rain that caused local flooding.

Three tornadoes were confirmed by survey teams that went out from the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids, and five twisters were confirmed by survey teams from the National Weather Service in White Lake (Detroit).

Here’s a map of the first tornado, which started four miles southwest of Allegan. It moved a little south of due east, crossing M-40 and lifted 4.25 miles west northwest of Otsego, coming close to the Bittersweet Ski Area. Peak winds with this storm were estimated to be 80 mph. The storm downed dozens of large trees and power lines on its 6.5 mile path. It was approximately 100 yards wide, or as wide as a football field is long.

The second tornado started shortly after the first tornado lifted. This twister was an EF1 with 100 mph winds. It was on the ground for 16 miles, starting just north-northeast of Otsego and continuing all the way to Hickory Corners. The tornado crossed US-131 and put debris from a nearby building across the highway, resulting in a traffic jam in both directions. It was 175 yards wide. Dozens of buildings were damaged along the tornado’s path. The tornado was moving at approximately 45 mph.

An interesting note, south of the tornado, there was some significant thunderstorm wind damage town through Otsego and Plainwell. This may have been a case of rear-flank downdraft. It would be interesting to have a temperature and pressure trace from near Otsego, and to know if it was raining and how hard it may have been raining during the strong wind in Otsego.

The third tornado was a strong EF1 with winds of 110 mph. Now, 111 mph is EF2, so this was a significant tornado. It was on the ground for 24 minutes and covered 18.75 miles, starting near the town of Fenwick and ending a little past Perrinton shortly after it crossed M-57. This twister also traveled at about 45 mph. Over a dozen barns and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed, and about 10 homes had roof damage.

We also had an 80 mph wind gust recorded at the Ford Airport in Grand Rapids (official NWS observation) and an 81 mph gust at the ASOS weather station. The 80 mph reading, if verified, might tie the all-time record highest gust ever in Grand Rapids, which was set during the Armistice Day Storm of November 11, 1940. That was not a thunderstorm, but just the circulation around a very deep low-pressure center.

Also, Tuesday night, we recorded a gust to 61 mph in Comstock Park and a 60 mph gust in East Grand Rapids.

The tornadoes in the eastern half of the Lower Peninsula occurred near Ann Arbor (EF1), Lincoln Park (EF1), Albee (EF1), Durand (EF0) and Bridgeport (EF0).

As far as I know, there were no serious injuries from the eight tornadoes on Tuesday night. I think this brings Michigan up to around 13 tornadoes for 2026. It’s certainly been an active spring.