Overview
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On the afternoon of March 6th, 2026, a lone supercell developed in La Porte County, IN and tracked northeast into Lower Michigan. The supercell moved through Cass, St Joseph, Branch, and Calhoun counties. NWS storm damage surveys from NWS Northern Indiana and NWS Grand Rapids found that the parent supercell spawned 4 tornadoes across Lower Michigan, ranging from EF-0 to EF-3 intensity. There were numerous reports called in to our office and videos posted on social media by storm chasers, broadcast media, trained spotters, and the public confirming tornado damage in Edwardsburg, Three Rivers, and Union City. The north side of Union Lake in Union City was one of the hardest hit areas with numerous homes taking on significant damage and trees sheared off. Several businesses in the city of Three Rivers also sustained notable damage. Unfortunately, there have been multiple confirmed fatalities and injuries across Lower Michigan. 3 fatalities have been confirmed in Branch County and 1 fatality occurred in Cass County; there were also 12 confirmed injuries in Union City (Branch County) and 10 injuries in Three Rivers (St Joseph County). Survey Updates: March 9th, 2026 as of 4:44 pm EDT A team went out and conducted surveys of the Three Rivers, MI and Union City, MI tornadoes during the day on March 7th, 2026. The Edwardsburg, MI tornado was surveyed March 8th, 2026. Here are the preliminary ratings of these tornadoes (official statement here):
The Union City, MI preliminary EF3 tornado with max wind speeds of 160 mph is the earliest EF3+ tornado in the calendar year for Michigan. The previous earliest was an EF3 that struck north of Ann Arbor, MI on March 15, 2012. Before March 6th, 2026, the most recent EF3 in Michigan was the Gaylord, MI EF3 tornado which occurred on May 20, 2022 and had wind speeds of up to 150 mph. The Union City, MI EF-3 is the strongest tornado to occur in Michigan since an F4 struck Kalamazoo and Eaton Counties on April 2, 1977. Our hearts go out to anyone affected by the severe storms and tornadoes. We appreciate everyone who has sent in pictures, videos, and reports to us of damage including emergency management, trained spotters, broadcast media, storm chasers, and the public. |
Tornadoes
Select a tornado from the table to zoom into the track and view more information. The default table view is limited to 8 tracks, but can be scrolled by a mouse wheel or dynamically expanded. Additionally, the table can fill the entire window by clicking the small circular expanding arrow icon at the very top right of the table and returned to its original size by clicking the button again. The side information panel that opens over the map can be closed using the "X" on the upper right corner of the pop-up. Zoom into the map and click damage points to see detailed information and pictures from the surveys.
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NOTE: times shown below are local to your device's time zone. |
The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:
| EF0 Weak 65-85 mph |
EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph |
EF2 Significant 111-135 mph |
EF3 Severe 136-165 mph |
EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph |
EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph |
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| Tornadoes that fail to impact any ratable damage indicators on the EF-Scale are rated EF-Unknown (EF-U) | |||||
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