Tornadoes · United States · Michigan · 2007

EF1 tornado, Lansing, Michigan, August 24, 2007

This EF1 tornado ran 6.0 miles across Ingham County on August 24, 2007, touching down at 4:55 PM EDT and reaching 300 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $300,000 of property damage.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

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

  3. EF2111 to 135 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. EF3136 to 165 mph

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

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

  6. EF5over 200 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.

The record

Rating
EF1
Date
August 24, 2007
Touchdown
4:55 PM EDT (20:55 UTC)
Lifted
5:00 PM EDT (21:00 UTC)
On the ground
5 minutes
Path length
6.0 miles (9.7 km)
Path width
300 yards (274 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$300,000
County
Ingham County
Touchdown point
42.687, -84.530
Lift-off point
42.730, -84.491
Record number
0708241455-01

What the Weather Service recorded

An EF-3 tornado struck Eaton county and resulted in five injuries but no fatalities. An EF-1 tornado struck Ingham county but did not produce any injuries or fatalities.

An EF-1 tornado struck Ingham county south and east of the city of Lansing. Maximum winds were estimated at 90 mph. The track of the tornado was six miles long and 200 to 300 yards wide. ||The first sign of damage was near the intersections of Waverly and M-99. Significant damage occurred at the Stonegate mobile home park south of M-99. Many trees were down there and some fell on mobile homes. The damage path continued northeast toward I-96 across Grovenburg Road. ||More tree damage was found on the north side of I-96 along Haag Road. The damage path continued northeast across Miller Road through neighborhoods where numerous oak trees were blown down, some onto homes.

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

The warnings

9 minutes of warning. NWS GRR issued a tornado warning for this county at 20:46 UTC, 9 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 21:30 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 20:27 UTC and running to 03:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
20:27 UTC03:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchGRR
20:37 UTC21:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRR
20:46 UTC21:30 UTCTornado WarningGRR

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 forecast that day

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 20:00 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 air that afternoon

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.

Detroit, MI (KDTX), 12:00Z

8.9 hours before the tornado, 88 km from the path. August 24, 2007.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Detroit, MI at 12:00Z on 2007-08-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 26 joules per kilogram, CIN -262, lifted condensation level 963 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Detroit, MI at 12:00Z on 2007-08-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 3 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 22 knots.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
26 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-262 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
963 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
16 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Detroit, MI (KDTX), 00:00Z

3.1 hours after it, 88 km from the path. August 25, 2007.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Detroit, MI at 00:00Z on 2007-08-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 197 joules per kilogram, CIN -76, lifted condensation level 770 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Detroit, MI at 00:00Z on 2007-08-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -35 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 27 knots.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
197 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-76 J/kg
Surface CAPE
174 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
770 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-35 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
41 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.0
Supercell composite
-0.2
0-3 km lapse rate
4.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 85 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:53 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.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
20:07 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Ssw VermontvilleEaton, MINEAR THE INTERSECTION OF CARLISLE AND MASON ROADS. TREES AND LIMBS DOWN. CHIMNEY BLOWN DOWN.
20:25 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 N CharlotteEaton, MIBUILDING DAMAGE NEAR COCHRAN AND M50
20:25 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 W PottervilleEaton, MI2 BARNS DESTROYED AND ANOTHER HEAVILY DAMAGED. NEAR OTTO AND VERMONTVILLE.
20:25 UTCTORNADO 31 Wnw PottervilleEaton, MI*** 5 INJ *** 5 PEOPLE TREATED FOR INJURIES TORNADO DESTROYED ROUGHLY 15 HOMES ROOF AND HALF OF SECOND STORY ROOMS BLOW OFF OF ONE HOME PATH 6 AND ONE HALF MILES LONG AND 200 TO 300 YARDS WIDE MAXIMUM WINDS 140 MPH.
20:25 UTCTORNADO2 N CharlotteEaton, MIBUILDING DAMAGE NEAR COCHRAN AND M50
20:25 UTCTORNADO3 W PottervilleEaton, MI2 BARNS DESTROYED AND ANOTHER HEAVILY DAMAGED. NEAR OTTO AND VERMONTVILLE.
20:25 UTCTORNADOPottervilleEaton, MI*** 5 INJ *** 5 PEOPLE TREATED FOR INJURIES AND 2 PEOPLE HOSPITALIZED AS TORNADO DESTROYED SEVERAL HOMES NEAR POTTERVILLE.
20:30 UTCHAIL 12 Nw PottervilleEaton, MINEAR OTTO AND DOAN
20:45 UTCTSTM WND GST 604 W OwossoShiawassee, MIZERO VSBY
20:50 UTCTSTM WND GST 604 W OwossoShiawassee, MIZERO VSBY
20:55 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 E LansingIngham, MIAT DUNCKEL AND JOLLY POSSIBLE TORNADO TOUCHDOWN CAUSING TRANSFORMER DAMAGE.
20:55 UTCTORNADO 12 E LansingIngham, MITRANSFORMER DAMAGED NEAR INTERSECTION OF DUNCKEL AND JOLLY. MAX WINDS ESTIMATED AROUND 90 MILES AND HOUR THE TRACK OF THE TORNADO WAS 6 MILES LONG AND 200 TO 300 MILES WIDE.
20:55 UTCTORNADO2 E LansingIngham, MITRANSFORMER DAMAGED NEAR INTERSECTION OF DUNCKEL AND JOLLY.
21:10 UTCTSTM WND DMGOwossoShiawassee, MISEVERAL TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN
21:23 UTCTSTM WND GST 602 N GregoryLivingston, MI
21:37 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Sw FentonLivingston, MILARGE TREE AND POWERLINES BLOWN DOWN AT TYRON TWP
21:39 UTCTORNADO1 N Oak GroveLivingston, MITORNADO TOUCHDOWN WITH SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO HOMES AND TREES IN COHOCTAH AND DEERFIELD TOWNSHIPS NORTHWEST AND NORTH OF OAK GROVE.
21:39 UTCTORNADOOak GroveLivingston, MITORNADO TOUCHDOWN

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2007 tornado in MichiganEvery tornado in Michigan since 1950Warnings in force in Michigan nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of August 24, 2007

9 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 242:50 PM CDTEF0Phelps, MO1.075$10,000
August 244:25 PM EDTEF3Eaton, MI6.53005$40 million
August 244:15 PM CDTEF0Dent, MO0.125
August 245:23 PM EDTEF0Shiawassee, MI0.350$50,000
August 245:30 PM EDTEF2Livingston, MI23.54401$24 million
August 244:31 PM CDTEF0Brown, KS0.125
August 244:32 PM CDTEF0Atchison, KS0.125
August 246:02 PM EDTEF0Washtenaw, MI2.550$500,000
August 246:16 PM EDTEF1Lapeer, MI3.2250$1.0 million

What this means

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.

Sources

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