Tornado and Hail in Michigan, June 12, 1998

Trees and power lines downed in Doster, 5 miles northeast of Plainwell, near the Allegan-Barry County border.

A trained weather spotter reported approximately 20 trees snapped off, 12 trees uprooted, power lines downed, and minor structural damage in an area approximately 1.5 miles south of the village of Schoolcraft. Structural damage included: windows blown out of 2 homes and 1 home with siding torn off, one barn with large doors blown off and roof damage and another barn with a roof blown off at 5348 XY Avenue; 1 home with a garage door buckled out and siding damage caused by a fallen tree at 15835 Prairie Rhonde St.; a child's outdoor play set destroyed at 5802 Woodbrook Ln.; and minor structural damage done to Carter Lumber Company (which included a large overhanging storage area blown up and off, 3 large doors blown out, many stacks of lumber toppled, and several fences destroyed). Damage was estimated at $50,000. No injuries were reported.

Trees and power lines downed in the city of Plainwell.

A trained weather spotter and local radio broadcaster reported trees and power lines downed across Prairieville Township.

Amateur radio operators estimated an 80-mph wind gust near Delton in Barry Township.

A trained weather spotter reported golfball-sized hail covered the ground 2 to 3 inches deep in Banfield.

Damage surveys conducted by the National Weather Service with the assistance of the Civil Air Patrol and Calhoun County Emergency Management confirmed a brief tornado touchdown occurred in Bedford Township of northwest Calhoun County at 4:34 pm EDT on Friday, June 12th. The tornado touched down in a low wooded area near Kirby Lake, 2 miles southwest of the village of Bedford. The tornado crossed Collier Road and travelled along Halbert Road and caused extensive damage to trees from Wanbascon Creek to about 3/4 of a mile east of Michigan Highway 37. The storm path length was approximately 2.5 statute miles long and up to 600 feet (or 200 yards) wide. It appeared that most of the tornadic winds remained aloft, clipping the upper half of trees like a large weed wacker. Scattered homes in the area received minor damage consisting of broken windows, TV antennas bent over roof tops, and damage to shingles and siding. A few homes sustained roof damage as the result of trees and large limbs being blown down on the dwellings. Based on the estimates from the damage survey in Bedford Township, this particular tornado was rated F1 (73-112mph) on the Fujita Scale. The tornado lifted approximately 4 minutes after touching down as the storm continued to move east-southeast into Pennfield Township. No injuries or fatalities were reported as a direct result of this tornado touchdown. Parts of Michigan Highway 37 were closed for a time after the storm to clear away downed trees and power lines.

Reported by amateur radio operators just prior to tornado touchdown.

Six large trees and several telephone poles were downed near the intersection of Patterson and Wildwood Roads, just south of Gun Lake and 2 miles north of Orangeville in Orangeville Township.

The same supercell thunderstorm which produced the F1 tornado in northwest Calhoun County produced a wet microburst as it moved across Pennfield Township. The downburst caused one fatality and 2 injuries approximately 1/2 mile south of Pennfield High School, just east of the Battle Creek River in the vicinity of Pony Street and Clarence Blvd. Approximately 12 homes sustained varying degrees of damage in this location. Two modular homes on adjacent properties along Clarence Blvd. were blown off their foundations and destroyed. A 75 year old man in the northernmost structure was killed, while a teenage girl who occupied the neighboring home was critically injured and her mother sustained minor injuries. A 20 foot camping trailer was hurled in a grove of small trees over 100 feet away and was demolished. In addition, several vehicles were damaged. A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Office in Grand Rapids revealed a unidirectional damage pattern associated with straight-line winds. It appeared a powerful wet microburst occurred in Pennfield Township as the severe thunderstorm mesocyclone weakened. Wind speeds were estimated to have reached 120 mph at the damage site.

Residents reported to NWS Grand Rapids officials that one inch diameter hail fell immediately before downburst of damaging winds hit Pennfield Township.

A trained weather spotter reported a 58 mph wind gust as measured by his local anemometer.