NWS sending survey crews to Albee Township, Western Gratiot County

SAGINAW, Mich. (WNEM) - The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids and Detroit has confirmed they are sending a survey crew to Albee Township in Saginaw County and western Gratiot County into Montcalm County near Carson City to examine potential tornado damage from Tuesday night’s severe storms.

These storms swept through the region at the start of Tuesday night with several severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings along the leading edge of a line of storms. The storms already had a history of severe weather in West Michigan, as well as in Wisconsin and Iowa.

NWS employees will survey storm damage to houses, cars, trees, and other structures to determine if the damage aligns with typical tornado damage patterns. The Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale, used to rate tornado strength, is based on these observations. If confirmed, these would be the first tornadoes in the TV5 viewing area this year. Other tornadoes in Michigan so far this year have occurred in southwestern Michigan near Battle Creek, including an EF3 in Union City at the start of March, and south of Detroit in Wayne County, where an EF1 formed at the start of April.

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