Tornadoes · United States · Michigan · 2011

EF1 tornado, Beaver to Linwood, Michigan, May 31, 2011

From Beaver to Linwood, this EF1 tornado ran 8.4 miles across Bay County on May 31, 2011, touching down at 7:26 PM EDT and reaching 200 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.

  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
May 31, 2011
Touchdown
7:26 PM EDT (23:26 UTC)
Lifted
7:37 PM EDT (23:37 UTC)
On the ground
11 minutes
Path length
8.4 miles (13.5 km)
Path width
200 yards (183 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$100,000
County
Bay County
Touchdown point
43.709, -84.110
Lift-off point
43.738, -83.947
Record number
1105311726-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A few severe thunderstorms, including one tornadic cell, tracked across Midland and Bay counties and into Saginaw Bay, and finally impacting far northern Huron County.

The tornado was rated EF1 with maximum winds to 95 mph. The path width was 200 yards with a path length of 8.4 miles. The tornado started near Parish road and 11 mile road just west of the community of Beaver. The tornado then moved through Beaver, crossed Interstate 75, and finally across the south part of Linwood before moving out to Saginaw Bay at 737 pm. A barn was destroyed and homes were damaged near Beaver, mostly to garages and roofing material. Numerous trees were uprooted with snapped large limbs.

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

The warnings

16 minutes of warning. NWS DTX issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:10 UTC, 16 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:45 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 19:34 UTC and running to 01:51 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
16:00 UTC00:00 UTCHeat AdvisoryDTX
19:34 UTC01:51 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchDTX
22:24 UTC23:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTX
23:10 UTC23:45 UTCTornado WarningDTX
23:25 UTC00:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm 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 Slight Risk, with a 0.05 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 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

11.4 hours before the tornado, 122 km from the path. May 31, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Detroit, MI at 12:00Z on 2011-05-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1647 joules per kilogram, CIN -247, lifted condensation level 1517 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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 2011-05-31The 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 -82 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 20 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
1647 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-247 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1663 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1517 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-82 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-60 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Detroit, MI (KDTX), 00:00Z

0.6 hours after it, 122 km from the path. June 1, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Detroit, MI at 00:00Z on 2011-06-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2563 joules per kilogram, CIN -7, lifted condensation level 1489 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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 2011-06-01The 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 161 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 42 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
2563 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-7 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2825 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1489 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
161 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
226 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.3
Supercell composite
12.6
0-3 km lapse rate
7.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 122 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:24 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
22:28 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 E RosebushIsabella, MIAN OLD BARN WAS DESTROYED. A LARGE TREE WAS UPROOTED AS WELL. DELAYED REPORT FROM MAY 31.
22:29 UTCHAIL 0.51 Se Mount PleasantIsabella, MIPEA SIZED TO HALF INCH HAIL.
22:31 UTCHAIL 0.882 S Mount PleasantIsabella, MI
22:33 UTCHAIL 1Mount PleasantIsabella, MIREPORTED VIA THE MOUNT PLEASANT MORNING SUN.
22:40 UTCHAIL 1.54 E Mount PleasantIsabella, MITRAINED SPOTTER REPORTS HAIL OF 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER
22:48 UTCHAIL 111 W MidlandMidland, MI
23:00 UTCHAIL 1.53 E Mount PleasantIsabella, MIGOLF BALL SIZED HAIL.
23:06 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDNnw SanfordMidland, MIFUNNEL CLOUD REPORT NEAR SANFORD LAKE
23:06 UTCHAIL 1.52 Ese SanfordMidland, MIHAIL REPORTED AT WACKERLY RD
23:07 UTCHAIL 14 N AlmaGratiot, MIHAIL REPORTEDLY FELL NEAR JEFFERSON AND BEGOLE.
23:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Ese BombayMidland, MITREES UPROOTED WITH MEASURED 71 MPH WINDS. ALSO, FUNNEL CLOUD WAS REPORTED.
23:15 UTCHAIL 15 Wnw MidlandMidland, MIREPORTED AT WACKERLY RD AND US 10
23:25 UTCHAIL 1.755 Ne SanfordMidland, MI
23:26 UTCTORNADO3 N WillardBay, MITHE TORNADO WAS RATED EF1 WITH MAXIMUM WINDS TO 95 MPH. PATH WIDTH...200 YARDS...PATH LENGTH...8.4 MILES. TORNADO STARTED NEAR PARISH AND 11 MILE ROAD JUST WEST OF THE COMMUNITY OF BEAVER. THE TORNADO THEN MOVED THROUGH
23:27 UTCHAIL 1.252 Wnw CrumpBay, MIREPORTED AT CARTER RD AND PREVO RD
23:28 UTCTORNADO3 S CrumpBay, MIVIEWER PROVIDED VIDEO OF A CONFIRMED TORNADO NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF GARFIELD AND PARRISH RD.
23:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG6 N AuburnBay, MITREES DOWN, POWER LINES DOWN, HOMES WITH WALLS BLOWN IN AT THE INTERSECTION OF GARFIELD AND SEIDLERS RD IN BEAVER TOWNSHIP
23:30 UTCHAIL 1MidlandMidland, MIHAIL WENT THROUGH A TWO PANE GLASS SKYLIGHT

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2011 tornado in MichiganEvery tornado in Michigan since 1950Warnings in force in Michigan nowThe forecast where you are

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.