F1 tornado, Fenton, Michigan, June 8, 2003

1. F040 to 72 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. F173 to 112 mphthis tornado

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. F2113 to 157 mph

   Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

4. F3158 to 206 mph

   Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

5. F4207 to 260 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. F5261 to 318 mph

   Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

7. Unrated

   The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Rating

F1

Date

June 8, 2003

Touchdown

5:35 PM EDT (21:35 UTC)

Path length

3.0 miles (4.8 km)

Path width

100 yards (91 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$300,000

County

Genesee County

Touchdown point

42.870, -83.700

Lift-off point

42.900, -83.650

Record number

1233

A strong upper level low moved across southern Michigan during the early evening of the 8th. This system triggered numerous thunderstorms across the region, some of which produced damaging winds and large hail. Three tornadoes also occurred during the evening. Commemoration ceremonies to mark the 50th anniversary of the deadliest tornado in Michigan history (one of the top ten in U.S. history) was ongoing in Beecher, north of Flint in Genesee county. Ironically, a tornado struck the southern portion of Genesee county at the same time the commemoration ceremonies were underway.

A tornado touched down in Camp Copneconic and produced extensive tree damage. The tornado then traveled northeast into southern Grand Blanc Township. The tornado hit Spring Oak subdivision on the north side of Baldwin Road approximately one mile east of Fenton road. The tornado completely destroyed the garage and front porches of three homes. Several homes had their garage walls destroyed. Several other homes had shingle and siding damage. The tornado continued through Aspen subdivision, where two homes sustained roof and garage damage. Several other homes in the subdivision lost shingles and siding. The tornado continued to the intersection of McWain and Pollock roads. Several homes sustained damage due to falling trees. The Michigan room on one home was destroyed. The tornado lifted just northeast of McWain road. An official storm survey conducted by the National Weather Service estimated winds between 100 and 110 mph.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

42 minutes of warning. NWS DTX issued a tornado warning for this county at 20:53 UTC, 42 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:00 UTC.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:57 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Flint (FNT), 11 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 26 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:34 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2003 tornado in MichiganEvery tornado in Michigan since 1950Warnings in force in Michigan nowThe forecast where you are

9 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.