Due to the tornadoes that hit parts of Michigan on Tuesday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has called a state of emergency in those areas.
Heavy rain and wind hit Michigan on Tuesday, and the National Weather Service issued the first tornado alert the state has ever had.
Southeast Michigan had several tornado warnings in force Tuesday night. Union City was put under a tornado emergency. This was the first tornado emergency for the state since records began in 1999.
Tuesday at 6:11 p.m. ET, the National Weather Service said there was a “confirmed large and destructive tornado” over Union City.
“I’ve declared a state of emergency for Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Branch, and Cass counties after a severe storm system,” Whitner shared on X. “We will work with emergency teams overnight to monitor the situation and coordinate resources for those affected. Michigan is strong and together we will rebuild.”
The mayor of Portage, Michigan, which is close to Kalamazoo, said that two tornadoes did “extensive damage to both residential and commercial properties” in her city. The area lost power Tuesday night because of downed trees and lines that were making repairs hard, she said.
Pictures showed that a FedEx center in Portage had a lot of damage. Officials say at least 50 people were inside the heavily damaged building where the company worked. Authorities say that no one was seriously hurt, and late Tuesday night, a FedEx representative reported that all team members were “safe and accounted for.”
The storm did “extensive damage” to the Pavilion Estates mobile home park in Kalamazoo, according to city officials.
More than a dozen tornadoes were seen in the Plains from Monday night through Tuesday morning. On Tuesday afternoon and evening, the danger of tornadoes spread to the Ohio Valley and some areas of the southern Great Lakes. All the way from Chicago to Nashville, Tennessee, about 35 million Americans are in the storm zone.
Some areas of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky were under a tornado watch until Tuesday night. Thunderstorms with damaging winds up to 70 mph and hail the size of baseballs are possible.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told people to get ready for the bad weather that is coming over most of the state in the next few days, which includes “potentially significant tornadoes,” flooding, hail, and high winds.
