Tornadoes · United States · Michigan · 2010

EF2 tornado, Rea to Estral Beach, Michigan, June 6, 2010

From Rea to Estral Beach, this EF2 tornado ran 13.0 miles across Monroe County on June 6, 2010, touching down at 2:11 AM EDT and reaching 800 yards wide. It killed nobody and injured 11, and did $50 million 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 mph

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

  3. EF2111 to 135 mphthis tornado

    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
EF2
Date
June 6, 2010
Touchdown
2:11 AM EDT (06:11 UTC)
Lifted
2:27 AM EDT (06:27 UTC)
On the ground
16 minutes
Path length
13.0 miles (20.9 km)
Path width
800 yards (732 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
11
Property damage
$50 million
County
Monroe County
Touchdown point
41.966, -83.769
Lift-off point
41.945, -83.518
Record number
1006060011-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A strong low pressure system tracked through Detroit Metro area during the early morning hours of June 6th, spawning three tornadoes south of I-94, with flash flooding occuring over Washtenaw and Wayne counties as 2 to 4 inches of rain was recorded. The two tornadoes which occured over Monroe county damaged a total of 311 buildings. Five single family homes were destroyed. Major damage occured at 34 structures. Minor damage was observed at 74 structures, with 198 other homes affected needing mostly cosmetic repairs. The village of Dundee was hardest hit.

A tornado touched down at 211 am at County Line Road and Rankin Road in Monroe county. This tornado then tracked east southeast, moving through Dundee at 217 AM. Maximum sustained winds of 130 to 135 mph where estimated just west of Dundee, which is classified at a high end EF2. The width of the tornado at that time was 800 yards. As it passed through Dundee. The tornado was still classified a low end EF2 with maximum winds of 115 mph. The tornado then tracked another 7 miles along highway 50 before lifting at 227 am at the Dixon Road intersection, causing generally EF0 damage to the east of Dundee. The total path of this tornado reached 13 miles.

A tornado touched down at 233 am just southwest of Woodland Beach. The tornado tracked 5 miles to the northeast, reaching Estral Beach at 239 am before moving into Lake Erie. The path width was 500 yards with estimated maximum winds of 90 mph, which is classified at an EF1. This tornado impacted the Fermi nuclear power facility, peeling off a section of the roof and some siding on storage buildings. Over 125 homes and 23 vehicles were damaged, with many trees downed.

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 02:14 UTC and running to 06:52 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
22:00 UTC07:26 UTCFlood WatchDTX
02:14 UTC06:52 UTCTornado WatchDTX
03:31 UTC03:57 UTCTornado WarningDTX
06:15 UTC06:46 UTCTornado WarningDTX

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 General Thunderstorms Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 06:04 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

6.2 hours before the tornado, 87 km from the path. June 6, 2010.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Detroit, MI at 00:00Z on 2010-06-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -86613, lifted condensation level 1785 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 2010-06-06The 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 0 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 52 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-86613 J/kg
Surface CAPE
16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1785 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
1 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
0 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
58 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
6.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Detroit, MI (KDTX), 12:00Z

5.8 hours after it, 87 km from the path. June 6, 2010.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Detroit, MI at 12:00Z on 2010-06-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -78266, lifted condensation level 661 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 2010-06-06The 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 -158 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 78 knots.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-78266 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
661 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
78 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-158 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-98 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

The radar

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 84 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 06:09 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
03:59 UTCHEAVY RAIN 2Ne YpsilantiWashtenaw, MI3 HOUR TOTAL
04:30 UTCHEAVY RAIN 1.23Garden CityWayne, MI4 HOUR TOTAL.
04:43 UTCFLASH FLOODAnn ArborWashtenaw, MIWATER COVERING ROADS AT M14 AND US23.
04:47 UTCTSTM WND GST 58Ann ArborWashtenaw, MIINTERSECTION OF ROSINVILLE AND TEXTILE
04:47 UTCTSTM WND GST 60Ann ArborWashtenaw, MIINTERSECTION OF 94 AND WHITTAKER RD.
04:47 UTCTSTM WND GST 60Ann ArborWashtenaw, MIINTERSECTION OF RIDGE AND GETTYS
05:13 UTCHEAVY RAIN 1.5DearbornWayne, MI1 HOUR ESTIMATED TOTAL.
05:21 UTCHEAVY RAIN 2.18DearbornWayne, MISTORM TOTAL SO FAR. .77 INCHES HAVE FALLEN IN THE PAST 45 MINUTES.
05:35 UTCTSTM WND DMGCambridge JunctionLenawee, MICOUNTY DISPATCH REPORTED TREES, POWERLINES, AND A BARN BLOWN DOWN.
05:40 UTCTSTM WND DMGRome CenterLenawee, MINUMEROUS BARNS DESTROYED AND TREES DOWN. POSSIBLE TORNADO.
05:48 UTCTORNADO1 N Rome CenterLenawee, MIA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY TEAM ALSO CONFIRMED THAT A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN AT 148 AM AT SOUTHARD HIGHWAY AND WOERNER ROAD IN LENAWEE COUNTY. THE TORNADO THEN TRACKED 2.5 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST TO SPRINGVILLE H
05:50 UTCTSTM WND DMGMilanWashtenaw, MIREPORTS OF DAMAGE TO HOMES. TREES BLOWN DOWN.
05:53 UTCFLOODNoviOakland, MIWATER COVERING THE ROAD NEAR 12 MILE AND NOVI ROAD
06:05 UTCFLOODFarmingtonOakland, MIWATER IS CURB TO CURB ON FARMINGTON ROAD BETWEEN 11 AND 12 MILE ROAD.
06:05 UTCFLASH FLOODFarmingtonOakland, MIWATER IS CURB TO CURB ON FARMINGTON ROAD BETWEEN 11 AND 12 MILE ROAD.
06:07 UTCTSTM WND GST 45Pittsfield TownshipWashtenaw, MIINTERSECTION OF US 23 AND MICHIGAN AVENUE.
06:11 UTCTORNADO4 W DundeeMonroe, MIA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY CONFIRMED THAT A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN AT 211 AM AT COUNTY LINE ROAD AND RANKIN ROAD. THE TORNADO TRACKED EAST SOUTHEAST...MOVING THROUGH DUNDEE AT 217 AM. MAXIMUM WINDS OF 130 TO 1
06:17 UTCTSTM WND DMGDundeeMonroe, MIVARIOUS TREES DOWN.
06:17 UTCTORNADODundeeMonroe, MIDISPATCH REPORTS DAMAGE TO HOUSES AND TREES. TRUCKS BLOWN OVER ON US23. DAMAGE TO CABELAS.
06:33 UTCTORNADO3 Ne MonroeMonroe, MIA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY TEAM ALSO CONFIRMED THAT A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN AT 233 AM AT THE SOUTHWEST PORTION OF DETROIT BEACH. THE TORNADO TRACKED 5 MILES TO THE NORTHEAST...REACHING ESTRAL BEACH AT 239 AM
06:35 UTCFLASH FLOODAnn ArborWashtenaw, MIWATER CURB TO CURB AT INTERSECTION OF HACKARD RD AND EISENHOWER RD.
06:35 UTCTSTM WND GST 51MonroeMonroe, MI
06:45 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 S NewportMonroe, MIAPPROXIMATELY ONE DOZEN HOMES DAMAGED IN THE WOODLAND BEACH AREA.
07:07 UTCHEAVY RAIN 2.29Garden CityWayne, MI6 HOUR STORM TOTAL. LAWNS AND BASINS FLOODED.

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 6, 2010

8 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 62:10 AM EDTEF0Erie, PA5.850$200,000
June 62:33 AM EDTEF1Monroe, MI5.2500$10 million
June 65:34 AM EDTEF0Union, OH3.4100$64,000
June 66:01 AM EDTEF1Ashtabula, OH4.5100$500,000
June 66:45 AM EDTEF0Crawford, PA0.520$30,000
June 67:05 AM EDTEF0Mercer, PA3.080$100,000
June 67:02 PM EDTEF0Delaware, IN0.125$3,000
June 68:31 PM MDTEF0Chase, NE2.020

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.