Powerful tornadoes swept across southwestern Michigan and Oklahoma, killing six people and injuring many others on Mar. 6.
In Union City, Michigan, the tornado killed three people, and in Cass County, officials reported one casualty. One of the individuals dead is a 12-year-old boy who went missing shortly after a tornado touched down. Despite his parents’ immediate 911 call, the boy succumbed to his weather-related injuries. Officials rated the tornado in Union City an EF-3 on a scale from zero to five based on wind speed and damage. Tyler Cramer, resident of Three Rivers, Michigan, and employee at a home improvement store, shared, “As we’re running is right when it hits, the skylights start blowing out. You can watch all the doors come off the building. You can look down the aisle ways, and we just watched the garden center on the far side of the store basically just disappear.” Officials warned residents to avoid affected areas and prepare for closed roads and power outages. One person is also dead in Edwardsburg, Michigan, and officials reported injuries in St. Joseph’s County.
A supercell thunderstorm caused the tornado responsible for the deaths in Union City. These are rare, lengthy storms characterized by a rotating updraft. What is special about these storms is how long they can last, potentially causing more damage. A meteorologist at the weather service’s Weather Prediction Center explained, “The combination of a weather system that pulled moisture out of the Gulf and a warm front that moved north created the right conditions for a tornado in a state where they’re relatively rare.” Michigan only experiences fifteen tornadoes on average per year, much less than states in “tornado alley.”…