Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 2026
Tornado Warning 18, NWS Grand Rapids, MI
NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued this tornado warning at Jun 11, 2026, 9:07 PM EDT for Kent County, Michigan. It was in force for 38 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Jun 11, 2026, 9:07 PM EDT (01:07 UTC)
- Expired
- Jun 11, 2026, 9:45 PM EDT
- In force
- 38 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Rapids, MI
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Tornado
- Radar indicated
- Hail
- 0.75 in
County Kent County, MI
The radar
The Grand Rapids radar (KGRR), 11 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:07 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 11, 9:19 PM EDT | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ssw Belmont, MI | Tree on roadway. |
Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.
Did it verify
Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this tornado warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.
Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.
The watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 11, 8:08 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 00:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 171 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 161 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -184 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1444 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 86 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 127 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.5
The text
As transmitted.
931
WFUS53 KGRR 120107
TORGRR
MIC081-120145-
/O.NEW.KGRR.TO.W.0018.260612T0107Z-260612T0145Z/
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Tornado Warning
National Weather Service Grand Rapids MI
907 PM EDT Thu Jun 11 2026
The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids has issued a
* Tornado Warning for...
Southern Kent County in southwestern Michigan...
* Until 945 PM EDT.
* At 907 PM EDT, severe thunderstorms capable of producing both
tornadoes and extensive straight line wind damage were located
along a line extending from near Jenison to near Jamestown, moving
east at 50 mph.
HAZARD...Tornado.
SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.
IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without
shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed.
Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree
damage is likely.
* These dangerous storms will be near...
Grand Rapids, Wyoming, Walker, and Grandville around 910 PM EDT.
Kentwood and East Grand Rapids around 915 PM EDT.
Gerald R. Ford International Airport around 920 PM EDT.
Other locations in the path of these tornadic storms include Lowell.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest
floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a
mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter
and protect yourself from flying debris.
&&
LAT...LON 4313 8531 4285 8531 4280 8578 4303 8579
TIME...MOT...LOC 0106Z 257DEG 46KT 4291 8590 4283 8585
TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...<.75 IN
$$
CAS1 follow-up statement
235
WWUS53 KGRR 120132
SVSGRR
Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Grand Rapids MI
932 PM EDT Thu Jun 11 2026
MIC081-120145-
/O.CON.KGRR.TO.W.0018.000000T0000Z-260612T0145Z/
Kent MI-
932 PM EDT Thu Jun 11 2026
...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 945 PM EDT FOR
SOUTHEASTERN KENT COUNTY...
At 931 PM EDT, severe thunderstorms capable of producing both
tornadoes and extensive straight line wind damage were located
located along a line extending from 5 miles east of East Grand Rapids
to near Gerald R. Ford International Airport, moving east at 50 mph.
HAZARD...Tornado.
SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.
IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without
shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage
to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is
likely.
Locations impacted include...
Lowell.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest
floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a
mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter
and protect yourself from flying debris.
This line of thunderstorms is capable of producing tornadoes and
widespread significant wind damage. Do not wait to see or hear the
tornado. For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest
floor of a building.
&&
LAT...LON 4307 8531 4285 8531 4283 8555 4303 8559
TIME...MOT...LOC 0131Z 258DEG 42KT 4297 8550 4284 8545
TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...<.75 IN
$$
DUKEWhat forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Grand Rapids, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Jun 11, 7:35 PM EDT, 1 hour 32 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- Potential for severe weather remains for later this evening
- Much cooler Friday; Rain chances return late Saturday into Sunday
- Cooler and unsettled next week
Area forecast discussion, Jun 11, 7:35 PM EDT, 1 hour 32 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Grand Rapids MI
735 PM EDT Thu Jun 11 2026
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Potential for severe weather remains for later this evening
- Much cooler Friday; Rain chances return late Saturday into Sunday
- Cooler and unsettled next week
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 304 PM EDT Thu Jun 11 2026
- Potential for severe weather remains for later this evening
There has been a lot said over the past few days regarding the
severe potential for tonight. That remains, but is still a little
uncertain just a few hours out due to leftover showers and storms
from last night trying to approach the area.
The synoptic scenario generally remains unchanged with lots of
dynamics still coming together over the area later this evening. The
main uncertainty comes with the showers and isolated storms slow to
diminish ahead of the main show, and the instability that can be
realized with the strong dynamics.
The showers and isolated storms are diminishing slowly as they
approach Lake Michigan. A bit slower than just about all of the
models have indicated. This is likely to delay the instability
advection over the area ahead of the strong short wave driving the
cold front through the region. An outflow boundary has settled over
Northern Illinois. This is becoming stationary and is about to be
pushed northward by the increasing low level jet ahead of the upper
wave and sfc front.
The bottom line is we expect plenty of instability to make it over
the area with up to around 2500 J/kg, highest across the SW corner
of the forecast area. The max instability will taper off as you head
further north and west.
Deep layer shear around 40 knots will work with the instability to
provide organization to the storms that are expected to line up
along the incoming cold front. Low level shear becomes very
favorable with the low level jet ramping up, especially across the
NW half of the forecast area. This along with backing winds at the
sfc provides quite some impressive hodographs that would support the
potential of isolated tornadoes along the QLCS.
Forecast soundings indicate that the further north you go, the more
of a stable layer is present. Further southwest, the stable layer is
quite shallow, partially because of the front approaching before we
lose too much instability, and partially because of the theta e axis
ahead of the front. The mid level winds are also strongest over the
western areas, leading to the best threat of strong winds. The best
threat of damaging winds reaching the ground, and possible tornadoes
will be there with the most shallow stable layer, with the threat
diminishing the further north and east you go.
The line should reach the Lake Michigan shore around 8-9 pm, and
then clear the forecast area 12-1 am, ending the threat once it
moves east. Some showers and storms may be possible with the wave
upper wave lingering. but the rich instability will be gone.
- Much cooler Friday; Rain chances return late Saturday into Sunday
We will likely see some residual clouds Friday morning, but these
will clear out quickly as ridging builds over the region. 850 mb
temps drop to around 12C Friday afternoon, which will support cooler
highs in the mid to upper 70s.
We will see the upper low over Canada then start to dominate the
weather over most of the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes. It will
bring a long wave trough down out of Canada late Saturday. This will
bring a sfc front into the forecast area Saturday evening. The front
is formidable itself, but then we will have a fairly strong short
wave ride along it, and bring another surge of energy to increase
the coverage of precipitation Saturday night and Sunday morning.
There is plenty of instability of around 1000 J/kg of MU CAPE ahead
of the front to support thunder. Shear is healthy too with the upper
jet near by, which helps support the marginal risk in place.
- Cooler and unsettled next week
Obviously the focus has been largely on the near term due to the
severe potential, so not much to say about the longer term period.
It can be categorized by long wave troughing/lower heights
dominating the region. This will result in much cooler temperatures
next week compared to this week. In addition, we will have short
waves moving through on the periphery of the upper trough. These
will bring periodic shower/storm chances to the area off and on next
week.
&&
.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY/... Issued at 213 PM EDT
Thu Jun 11 2026
The main change in this set of TAFs is to adjust the timing of the
next squall line currently moving across northern Illinois and
southern Wisconsin.
The main line of storms is expected to move through between 01Z and
06Z, and timing has been adjusted accordingly. Prevailing thunder
has been maintained at all sites, and TEMPO groups have been added
for higher gusts as the leading edge of the convection moves
through. IFR CIGs and visibilities are also included within the
TEMPO groups to account for the potential for heavy rainfall.
MVFR CIGs are expected overnight after the line passes, with VFR
conditions developing at most sites between 10Z and 14Z. Moderate
westerly winds will continue through 00Z Saturday, with skies
continuing to improve and cloud bases lifting to AOA 15kft AGL after
18Z.
&&
.MARINE...
Issued at 304 PM EDT Thu Jun 11 2026
We will leave the Small Craft Advisory and Beach Hazards Statement
as is for tonight and Friday. We saw winds and waves approaching
criteria earlier, but are now in a relative lull before the winds
increase again with the approach of the front this evening. Then
winds will shift to be from the WNW with cooler air coming in which
will build the waves again through the first part of Friday before
diminishing. Aside from the synoptic winds, thunderstorm winds could
gust much higher which would be accounted for with Special Marine
Warnings.
&&
.GRR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MI...Beach Hazards Statement from 8 PM EDT this evening through
Friday morning for MIZ037-043-050-056-064-071.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory from 8 PM this evening to noon EDT Friday
for LMZ844>849.
&&
DISCUSSION...NJJ
AVIATION...Planz
MARINE...NJJIn the hours before
Local storm report, Jun 11, 4:21 PM EDT, 4 hours 46 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Grand Rapids MI
421 PM EDT Thu Jun 11 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0804 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 3 NNE Perrinton 43.22N 84.66W
06/10/2026 Gratiot MI Emergency Mngr
Multiple large pole barn doors ripped off
and launched into field. Some house damage
from falling trees occurred just north in
Perrinton.
&&Local storm report, Jun 11, 8:59 PM EDT, 8 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Grand Rapids MI
859 PM EDT Thu Jun 11 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0855 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 2 NNE Holland 42.80N 86.08W
06/11/2026 Ottawa MI Trained Spotter
6 inch brand down at intersection of Chicago
and South Waverly in Holland.
&&Local storm report, Jun 11, 9:04 PM EDT, 3 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Grand Rapids MI
904 PM EDT Thu Jun 11 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0900 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 1 WNW Zeeland 42.82N 86.03W
06/11/2026 Ottawa MI Public
Trees and wires down.
&&The office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 11, 8:11 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRR | Allegan, Muskegon, Ottawa | 94 min |
| Jun 11, 8:42 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GRR | Ottawa | 38 min |
| Jun 11, 8:50 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRR | Van Buren | 55 min |
| Jun 11, 8:58 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRR | Barry, Kent | 62 min |
| Jun 11, 9:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRR | Kalamazoo | 39 min |
| Jun 11, 9:28 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GRR | Barry, Ionia, Kent | 29 min |
| Jun 11, 9:38 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRR | Eaton, Ionia | 67 min |
| Jun 11, 9:46 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRR | Calhoun | 45 min |
| Jun 11, 9:54 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GRR | Clinton, Eaton, Ionia | 36 min |
| Jun 11, 10:00 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRR | Clinton, Ingham | 60 min |
| Jun 11, 11:31 PM EDT | Areal Flood Advisory | GRR | Calhoun, Kalamazoo | 3 hr |
| Jun 11, 11:40 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRR | Jackson | 50 min |
| Jun 12, 4:10 PM EDT | Beach Hazards Statement | GRR | Mason, Muskegon, Oceana, Ottawa | 34 hr |
| Jun 12, 4:10 PM EDT | Small Craft Advisory | GRR | 34 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Michigan, 2026Every tornado warning in 2026Tornadoes in 2026
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.