Tornado damage at Burton and Burlingame SW, Wyoming. Photo credit Lacey Wakefield.
The National Weather Service confirmed that six tornadoes occurred in West Michigan on Saturday afternoon, August 20, including two in the Grand Rapids metro area.
Damaging straight-line wind gusts have also been noted near the tornado paths.
Sirens went off here in Cedar Springs, and while we had some intense rain, we didn’t suffer the effects of the tornado. According to the National Weather Service, the following areas in West Michigan experienced tornadoes:
EF-1 tornado damage was found between Bangor and Grand Junction, ending in far southern Allegan County.
An EF-1 tornado touched down just southwest of Bangor Michigan on Saturday, August 20th about 1:13 p.m. and tracked northeast through town. The entire city lost power as well as hundreds of trees. Multiple structures in Bangor were damaged as well. Roof damage was noted on Main Street. New Beginning Ministries and the Bangor Police Department sustained damage. The tornado then tracked further northeast, causing significant damage at True Blue Farms along County Road 215 and the Columbia Township Hall in Grand Junction. The tornado tracked into extreme southern Allegan County before lifting about 2.5 miles northeast of Grand Junction on 103rd Ave west of 52nd Street about 1:31 p.m.
A tornado (EF-1) southeast of Fennville, to east of Hamilton, in Allegan County.
Tornado damage in Bangor. Photo credit South Haven Emergency Services.
After the first tornado of the day (EF-1) tracked from Bangor to north of Grand Junction, the second tornado of the day began 6 miles southeast of Fennville about 1:42 p.m. and tracked to 4 miles northeast of Hamilton and was rated EF-1. It ended about 2:10 p.m.
A tornado (EF-1) south of Jamestown in far northern Allegan County and Southeastern Ottawa County.
The day’s third tornado, also rated EF-1, began 2 miles northwest of Burnips in extreme north-central Allegan County about 2:18 p.m. and tracked to 2 miles southeast of Jamestown in extreme southeast Ottawa County. It ended at 2:26 p.m.
EF-0 tornado damage was found in Grandville and Wyoming. EF-0 to EF-1 wind damage was also found south and east of this tornado across parts of Byron Township, Wyoming, Grand Rapids, and East Grand Rapids.
An EF-0 tornado touched down near 44th Street and Ivanrest Ave SW in Grandville Michigan on Saturday August 20th about 2:34 p.m. and continued on the ground along a varying path through Grandville and Wyoming before lifting near the intersection of Nagel Avenue SW and Chicago Drive SW about 2:44 p.m. Though the tornado remained west of US-131, it did zigzag across a number of major roads/intersections in the Grand Rapids metro area including Ivanrest Avenue SW just north of Rivertown Parkway; the intersection of Byron Center Ave SW and 36th Street; 28th Street SW near Sharon Avenue SW; Porter Street SW near Boulevard Drive SW; and Burlingame Avenue SW just north of Burton Street SW. Along the path, hundreds of trees were damaged or knocked over resulting in tens of thousands of power outages. Many homes and a number of vehicles were damaged from fallen trees. A couple notable locations the tornado moved through include the Wyoming Middle School football field where a set of football field goal posts were bent by soccer goals, and Battjes Park and Prairie Park where a number of trees were damaged or uprooted.
In addition to an EF-0 tornado that moved through portions of Grandville and Wyoming on August 20th, National Weather Service damage surveys identified areas of straight line wind damage in Kent County from August 20th storms.
Estimated winds of around 100mph, were equivalent to EF-1 wind damage. A small area of wind damage caused by estimated 100 mph winds was found near M6 between Ivanrest Ave SW and Kenowa Avenue SW. South of M6, Ironwood Golf Course saw the worst of the damage losing a significant number of large trees. North of M6, just west of Wilson Ave SW along 64th Street, a number of very large trees were uprooted causing significant damage to one home.
Estimated winds of 65 to 75 mph equivalent to EF-0 wind damage were also seen. A long stretch of straight line wind damage occurred from just northeast of the intersection of M6 and Wilson Avenue SW through East Grand Rapids. Notable locations that were impacted by straight line winds include Maple Hill Golf Course and Pinery Park. This damage was mainly to trees with a few fallen trees resulting in damage to homes.
Northeast Grand Rapids EF-0 Tornado.
A brief tornado touched down in Kent County about 2:50 p.m. near Perkins Avenue NE between Leonard Street NE and Knapp Street NE. Tree damage and some property damage from fallen trees occurred as the result of this brief tornado, which lifted about 2:52 p.m.
A tornado (EF-1) between Orleans and Fenwick in Ionia and Montcalm Counties.
Tornado damage began just east of the small town of Orleans about 3:10 p.m. and moved northeast where it crossed M-44, bringing several large trees down, one of which fell on a house. The tornado then crossed West Long Lake Road where the concrete block wall of a garage was blown out and the wind peeled shingles off the roof of a house. A path of tree damage about a hundred yards wide continued to the northeast and narrowed as it crossed the Montcalm County line. The last damage noted was a few downed trees on East Boyer Road about 3.5 miles southeast of Sheridan. It lifted about 3:25 p.m.
