Tornadic waterspout confirmed over northern Michigan lake earlier this week

The National Weather Service confirmed a tornadic waterspout spun over Otsego Lake on Tuesday, adding another tornado to a busier-than-average severe weather season in Michigan. 

The EF-O tornado traveled about 2.6 miles, over the lake near Gaylord in Northern Lower Michigan, the NWS bureau in Gaylord said. The waterspout flipped boats and damaged trees along the western shoreline. 

This is the second tornadic waterspout to hit in Otsego County this year, as one happened in May over Big Bradford Lake. 

The National Weather Service says waterspouts are most likely to occur in Northern Michigan from August through October, given differences in air and water temperatures that can occur in the Great Lakes region.  

The fair-weather waterspout forms over water. Tornadic waterspouts usually begin as tornadoes over land, then move over the water. The National Weather Service says they are larger and more dangerous than a fair-weather waterspout. 

With this storm earning a tornadic waterspout rating, there have now been 22 tornadoes in Michigan so far in 2026. Nine of those twisters occurred during the April 14-15 outbreak, including one that hit in Ann Arbor.  

Michigan normally gets 15 to 17 tornadoes a year, with the record set in 1974 when 39 tornadoes were confirmed. There were 33 tornadoes confirmed in the state during 2025. 

Tornadoes are rated via an estimated wind gust speed in the Enhanced Fujita Tornado Scale. An EF-0 tornado is estimated at up to 85 mph, and an EF-1 tornado is estimated at between 86 mph and 110 mph. Most of the twisters this year were on the smaller end of the tornado wind and damage scale.

The above video originally aired on June 18, 2026.