Whitmer declares state of emergency after at least 3 tornadoes touch down in southern Michigan
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has declared a state of emergency for three Michigan counties after the National Weather Service said at least three tornadoes touched down during severe storms on Friday.
The emergency declaration for Branch, Cass and St. Joseph counties on Sunday authorizes state resources to help with response and recovery efforts, state officials said.
An EF-3 tornado ripped through Union City, Michigan, in Branch County. The federal agency said it had a wind speed of at least 165 mph — just 1 mph shy of an EF-4 classification on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. At least three people died and 12 others were injured as a result of the twister, according to the agency, and several homes in the area were severely damaged.
The funeral home Lighthouse Funeral and Cremation identified two of the people who died as 54-year-old Keri Ann Johnson and 65-year-old Penni Jo Guthrie. Both were from Union City.
Officials said that only a small portion of the Union City tornado's possible track has been assessed and that other details, including how far it went and how long it lasted, "will be released as they become available."
The last EF-3 tornado that touched down in Michigan was in Gaylord in 2022.
The Union City tornado on Friday is the earliest EF-3+ tornado ever recorded in a calendar year for Michigan. The previous earliest was an EF-3 that struck north of Ann Arbor on March 15, 2012.
In Three Rivers, Michigan, which is around 30 miles southwest of Union City, an EF-2 tornado with a wind speed of at least 130 mph touched down on Friday night, according to the federal agency. Officials said "a number of commercial structures" were damaged in the area of U.S. Highway 131 and West Broadway Street.
Three Rivers Community Schools will be closed on Monday due to damage from Friday's severe weather, the district said.
"Our instructional buildings are safe, but we continue to assess and clean up throughout the district," the district said.
An EF-0 tornado with peak winds of around 85 mph swept through Clarendon Township in Calhoun County, the federal agency said. It touched down near the intersection of P-Drive South and 18 1/2 Mile Road at 4:58 p.m. and moved west.
Officials said the twister in Clarendon Township dissipated around 5:03 p.m. in the area of N-Drive South between 20 Mile Road and 21 1/2 Mile Road. It slightly damaged some structures, including a chicken coop that lost its roof and an exposed farm building with collapsed walls.
Sheriff Clint Roach of Cass County, which is around 30 miles west of Three Rivers, said a 12-year-old boy, identified as Silas Anderson, was killed in Friday's storms.
According to the Michigan State Police, the Salvation Army and the nonprofit Disaster Relief at Work were going door-to-door on Saturday with meals and cleaning supplies in Union City and Three Rivers.
Anyone who was impacted by Friday's severe weather and needs resources is asked to call 211.
