Tornadoes · United States · Michigan · 2010
EF1 tornado, Azalia to Scofield, Michigan, June 23, 2010
From Azalia to Scofield, this EF1 tornado ran 11.5 miles across Monroe County on June 23, 2010, touching down at 10:06 PM EDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $100,000 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.
EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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
- June 23, 2010
- Touchdown
- 10:06 PM EDT (02:06 UTC)
- Lifted
- 10:23 PM EDT (02:23 UTC)
- On the ground
- 17 minutes
- Path length
- 11.5 miles (18.5 km)
- Path width
- 100 yards (91 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $100,000
- County
- Monroe County
- Touchdown point
- 42.047, -83.675
- Lift-off point
- 42.019, -83.455
- Record number
- 1006232006-01
What the Weather Service recorded
A few tornadic producing severe thunderstorms tracked along and south of I-94 corridor during the early evening hours.
An NWS storm survey confirmed a tornado touched down just north of the Cone Rd exit off US 23...about 2 miles south of Milan at 10:06 PM June 23. The tornado lifted about 2 1/2 miles northeast of Maybee, near Steffas Rd between Scofield and Zink. The total path length was 11 1/2 miles with an average path width of 50 yards. The tornado was rated an EF0 along most of its path, producing winds of 60 to 70 MPH. However, EF1 damage with winds estimated at 90 MPH was found near Tuttle Hill Rd in London Township where a roof was torn off of a pole barn and substantial tree damage was found. The width of this tornado had briefly extended to 100 yards in this location. Several homes also had roof and shingle damage - mainly in and near the town of Scofield.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
20 minutes of warning. NWS DTX issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:46 UTC, 20 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:45 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 00:13 UTC and running to 03:41 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:43 UTC | 16:35 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | DTX |
| 16:03 UTC | 16:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DTX |
| 00:13 UTC | 03:41 UTC | Tornado Watch | DTX |
| 01:46 UTC | 02:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | DTX |
| 02:05 UTC | 02:43 UTC | Tornado Warning | DTX |
| 02:23 UTC | 03:14 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DTX |
| 02:32 UTC | 03:12 UTC | Tornado Warning | DTX |
| 02:37 UTC | 05:30 UTC | Flood Advisory | DTX |
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 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 01:00 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), 00:00Z
2.1 hours before the tornado, 77 km from the path. June 24, 2010.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 26 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -101 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 199 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1576 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 20 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 96 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 200 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 7.0 K/km
Detroit, MI (KDTX), 12:00Z
9.9 hours after it, 77 km from the path. June 24, 2010.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 381 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- 0 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 374 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 551 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 16 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 51 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.5 K/km
The radar
The Detroit radar (KDTX), 75 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:06 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) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:05 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 N Milan | Washtenaw, MI | 5 LARGE DIAMETER TREES DOWN BLOCKING THE ROAD. LOCATED ON CARPENTER ROAD BETWEEN WILLIS AND STONEY CREEK. |
| 00:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Se Carleton | Monroe, MI | 1.5 FOOT DIAMETER TREE LIMB, 15 FEET LONG, FELL ON POWERLINES ONTO TELEGRAPH ROAD ABOUT A QUARTER MILE SW OF I-275. STATE POLICE ARE ON THE SCENE. |
| 01:04 UTC | TSTM WND GST 45 | 5 Sw Grass Lake | Jackson, MI | ESTIMATED 35-45 MPH WINDS WITH HEAVY RAIN. |
| 01:05 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 2 N Brooklyn | Jackson, MI | OBSERVED WALL CLOUD |
| 01:35 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Nne Brooklyn | Jackson, MI | 18 INCH TREE DOWN BLOCKING WOLF LAKE ROAD NORTH OF AUSTIN ROAD. |
| 01:38 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 6 Sse Manchester | Lenawee, MI | |
| 01:40 UTC | FLOOD | Napoleon | Jackson, MI | EXTENSIVE STREET FLOODING |
| 01:56 UTC | TORNADO | 4 Nw Milan | Washtenaw, MI | TORNADO REPORTED ON THE GROUND NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF JEWELL ROAD AND SALINE MILAN ROAD. |
| 02:00 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 6 N Britton | Lenawee, MI | 20 INCH DIAMETER TREE DOWN WITH SEVERAL ADDITIONAL 4 TO 6 INCH LIMBS DOWN. |
| 02:05 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | Milan | Washtenaw, MI | |
| 02:06 UTC | TORNADO | 2 S Milan | Monroe, MI | A NWS STORM SURVEY CONFIRMED A TORNADO TOUCHDOWN JUST NORTH OF THE CONE RD EXIT OFF US 23. THE TORNADO LIFTED ABOUT 2 1/2 MILES NORTHEAST OF MAYBEE, NEAR STEFFAS RD BETWEEN SCOFIELD AND ZINK. TOTAL PATH LENTH WAS 11 1/2 |
| 02:08 UTC | TSTM WND GST 72 | 2 W Willis | Washtenaw, MI | WIND GUST MEASURED NEAR INTERSECTION OF WHITTAKER AND WILLIS ROADS |
| 02:25 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 W Newport | Monroe, MI | AN NWS STORM SURVEY REVEALED THAT STRAIT LINE THUNDERSTORM WINDS RESULTED IN POWER POLES BEING BLOWN DOWN AND PLASTIC TAKEN OUT OF A GREEN HOUSE. THE DAMAGE EXTENDED INTO NEWPORT. |
| 02:45 UTC | HEAVY RAIN 2.53 | 1 W Willis | Washtenaw, MI | STORM TOTAL RAINFALL AMOUNT NEAR INTERSECTION OF TUTTLE HILL ROAD AND WILLIS ROAD. |
| 02:50 UTC | HEAVY RAIN 1.57 | 2 Ene Brooklyn | Jackson, MI | RECEIVED SO FAR SINCE RAIN BEGAN AT 905 PM. |
| 03:25 UTC | HEAVY RAIN 1.35 | 2 Ssw Onsted | Lenawee, MI | STORM TOTAL RAINFALL NEAR INTERSECTION OF BROOKS HIGHWAY AND TEACHOUT |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2010 tornado in MichiganEvery tornado in Michigan since 1950Warnings in force in Michigan nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of June 23, 2010
11 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 23 | 2:18 AM CDT | EF1 | Bremer, IA | 0.3 | 35 | $10,000 | ||
| June 23 | 3:22 AM CDT | EF0 | Crawford, WI | 3.9 | 25 | $5,000 | ||
| June 23 | 6:26 PM CDT | EF1 | Cook, IL | 2.4 | 200 | $100,000 | ||
| June 23 | 8:59 PM EDT | EF1 | Elkhart, IN | 11.8 | 50 | $300,000 | ||
| June 23 | 9:09 PM EDT | EF1 | Elkhart, IN | 1.0 | 50 | $500,000 | ||
| June 23 | 9:14 PM EDT | EF1 | Kosciusko, IN | 4.8 | 150 | $300,000 | ||
| June 23 | 9:15 PM EDT | EF1 | Elkhart, IN | 3.5 | 100 | $50,000 | ||
| June 23 | 9:16 PM EDT | EF0 | Elkhart, IN | 0.5 | 25 | $10,000 | ||
| June 23 | 9:17 PM EDT | EF0 | Elkhart, IN | 1.9 | 50 | $75,000 | ||
| June 23 | 9:50 PM EDT | EF0 | Van Wert, OH | 0.9 | 50 | |||
| June 23 | 9:52 PM EDT | EF0 | Washtenaw, MI | 3.7 | 75 | $75,000 |
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.