National Weather Service confirms EF-2 tornado hit Portage, Michigan, on Tuesday
PORTAGE, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The National Weather Service confirmed on Wednesday that an EF-2 tornado struck Portage, Michigan, Tuesday evening.
Weather officials say the tornado reached an estimated peak wind of 135 mph and touched down near the intersection of S. 10th Street and W. R Avenue. It traveled for about 11 miles, damaging home roofs and sidings.
The tornado started at 5:55 p.m. and ended at 6:17 p.m. Tuesday, according to the NWS.
"Along the path, many homes had roof and/or siding damage. Two mobile home parks were impacted with several homes destroyed in each park. A number of business had significant damage along the path," NWS said.
"Multiple apartment complexes were also impacted with apartments on Timbercreek Court seeing the most significant damage. Hundreds of trees were snapped and uprooted along the path. A large section of the roof of an industrial warehouse also collapsed near the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport."
On Wednesday, the city of Portage said there were no fatalities or serious injuries due to the storm and is now going through the cleanup process. Officials say 23,000 customers in Kalamazoo County lost power and Consumers Energy was working to restore power.
The National Weather Service confirmed that at least two tornadoes struck Southwest Michigan. In addition to homes, a FedEx facility in Portage received some damage, including to the roof.
In response to the storms, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Southwest Michigan.
