Tornadoes · United States · Michigan · 2014

EF0 tornado, Michigamme Res to Witch Lake, Michigan, July 6, 2014

Name: EF0 tornado, Michigamme Res to Witch Lake, Michigan, July 6, 2014
Start: 2014-07-07T01:02:00.000Z
End: 2014-07-07T01:28:00.000Z
Location: Michigamme Res to Witch Lake, Michigan

From Michigamme Res to Witch Lake, this EF0 tornado ran 5.7 miles across Iron and Marquette counties on July 6, 2014, touching down at 8:02 PM CDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $4,000 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 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
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: EF0
Date: July 6, 2014
Touchdown: 8:02 PM CDT (01:02 UTC)
Lifted: 8:28 PM CDT (01:28 UTC)
On the ground: 26 minutes
Path length: 5.7 miles (9.1 km)
Path width: 100 yards (91 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $4,000
Counties: Iron and Marquette counties
Touchdown point: 46.361, -88.181
Lift-off point: 46.320, -88.078
Record number: 1407061902-01

What the Weather Service recorded

An upper disturbance moving through a warm and humid air mass produced strong to severe thunderstorms over Marquette County and a portion of Delta County on the 6th.

A weak tornado touched down in northeast Iron County and then tracked across into southwest Marquette County. The tornado downed or snapped off numerous trees along its path.

A weak tornado touched down in northeast Iron County and then tracked into southwest Marquette County. The tornado downed or snapped off numerous trees along its path.

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

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk. 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.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Marquette, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Jul 6, 6:02 PM CDT, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 6, 6:02 PM CDT, 2 hours before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 6, 3:04 AM CDT, 16 hours 58 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI
404 AM EDT SUN JUL 6 2014

MIZ001>007-009>014-084-085-071200-
KEWEENAW-ONTONAGON-NORTHERN HOUGHTON-BARAGA-MARQUETTE-ALGER-LUCE-
GOGEBIC-IRON-DICKINSON-MENOMINEE-DELTA-SOUTHERN SCHOOLCRAFT-
SOUTHERN HOUGHTON-NORTHERN SCHOOLCRAFT-
404 AM EDT SUN JUL 6 2014 /304 AM CDT SUN JUL 6 2014/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN UPPER
MICHIGAN AND CENTRAL UPPER MICHIGAN.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY AND TONIGHT. SOME OF THE STORMS
COULD BE STRONG TO SEVERE FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS
EVENING...PARTICULARLY SOUTH CENTRAL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING...AND
AGAIN FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

LSZ162-240>251-263>267-071200-
LAKE SUPERIOR WEST OF A LINE FROM SAXON HARBOR WI TO GRAND
PORTAGE MN BEYOND 5NM-SAXON HARBOR WI TO BLACK RIVER MI-
BLACK RIVER TO ONTONAGON MI-
ONTONAGON TO UPPER ENTRANCE OF PORTAGE CANAL MI-
UPPER ENTRANCE OF PORTAGE CANAL TO EAGLE RIVER MI-
EAGLE RIVER TO MANITOU ISLAND MI-
MANITOU ISLAND TO POINT ISABELLE MI-
POINT ISABELLE TO LOWER ENTRANCE OF PORTAGE CANAL MI-
LOWER ENTRANCE OF PORTAGE CANAL TO HURON ISLANDS MI INCLUDING
KEWEENAW AND HURON BAYS-HURON ISLANDS TO MARQUETTE MI-
MARQUETTE TO MUNISING MI-MUNISING TO GRAND MARAIS MI-
GRAND MARAIS TO WHITEFISH POINT MI-
LAKE SUPERIOR FROM SAXON HARBOR WI TO UPPER ENTRANCE TO PORTAGE
CANAL MI 5NM OFF SHORE TO THE US/CANADIAN BORDER INCLUDING ISLE
ROYALE NATIONAL PARK-
LAKE SUPERIOR FROM UPPER ENTRANCE TO PORTAGE CANAL TO MANITOU
ISLAND MI 5NM OFF SHORE TO THE US/CANADIAN BORDER-
LAKE SUPERIOR WEST OF LINE FROM MANITOU ISLAND TO MARQUETTE MI
BEYOND 5NM FROM SHORE-
LAKE SUPERIOR EAST OF A LINE FROM MANITOU ISLAND TO MARQUETTE MI
AND WEST OF A LINE FROM GRAND MARAIS MI TO THE US/CANADIAN BORDER
BEYOND 5NM FROM SHORE-
LAKE SUPERIOR FROM GRAND MARAIS MI TO WHITEFISH POINT MI 5NM OFF
SHORE TO THE US/CANADIAN BORDER-
404 AM EDT SUN JUL 6 2014 /304 AM CDT SUN JUL 6 2014/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN LAKE
SUPERIOR...CENTRAL LAKE SUPERIOR AND WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS ALL OF LAKE SUPERIOR TODAY...AND
OVER THE EAST HALF OF LAKE SUPERIOR TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE OVER PRIMARILY WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR
TUESDAY NIGHT...AND AGAIN THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY BEFORE EXPANDING
ACROSS ALL OF LAKE SUPERIOR FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

THE NEED FOR WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTS IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.

LMZ221-248-250-071200-
GREEN BAY NORTH OF LINE FROM CEDAR RIVER MI TO ROCK ISLAND
PASSAGE-SEUL CHOIX POINT TO POINT DETOUR MI-
5NM EAST OF A LINE FROM FAIRPORT MI TO ROCK ISLAND PASSAGE-
404 AM EDT SUN JUL 6 2014

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHERN LAKE
MICHIGAN.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE. SOME STORMS THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS
EVENING COULD BE STRONG TO SEVERE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING...AND
AGAIN FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

THE NEED FOR WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTS IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.

KF

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 6, 4:42 PM CDT, 3 hours 20 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jul 6, 5:35 PM CDT, 2 hours 27 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jul 6, 5:54 PM CDT, 2 hours 8 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jul 6, 5:56 PM CDT, 2 hours 6 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jul 6, 6:38 PM CDT, 1 hour 24 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jul 6, 6:51 PM CDT, 1 hour 11 minutes before

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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.

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), 00:00Z

1.0 hours before the tornado, 207 km from the path. July 7, 2014.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

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: 1828 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: 0 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 2485 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 588 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 22 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 150 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 153 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.3
Supercell composite: 7.7
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), 12:00Z

11.0 hours after it, 207 km from the path. July 7, 2014.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

Mixed-layer CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -82289 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1541 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 38 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 10 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -16 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 34 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 4.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Gwinn/Sawyer Afb (SAW), 56 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Temp (°F)	Dew point (°F)	Wind	Gust (kt)	Pressure (mb)	Weather
00:00 UTC

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

The radar

The Marquette radar (KMQT), 49 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:02 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.

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2014 tornado in Michigan Every tornado in Michigan since 1950 Warnings in force in Michigan now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of July 6, 2014

15 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
July 6	2:42 PM EDT	EF0	Brevard, FL	0.1	35		$50,000
July 6	6:03 PM CDT	EF0	Hamilton, IA	0.6	25
July 6	7:00 PM CDT	EF0	Butler, IA	0.4	15
July 6	7:58 PM CDT	EF1	Grundy, IA	3.2	100		$200,000
July 6	8:08 PM CDT	EF0	Grundy, IA	1.5	20
July 6	8:12 PM CDT	EF1	Tama, IA	9.7	225		$25,000
July 6	8:25 PM CDT	EF0	McKenzie, ND	3.8	40
July 6	8:41 PM CDT	EF0	Guthrie, IA	0.9	20
July 6	8:45 PM CDT	EF0	Jasper, IA	4.6	80
July 6	8:56 PM CDT	EF0	Benton, IA	0.1	10
July 6	9:15 PM CDT	EF0	Jasper, IA	0.5	25
July 6	10:20 PM EDT	EF1	Kent, MI	6.3	400	6	$4.5 million
July 6	12:16 AM EDT	EF0	Ionia, MI	1.0	50		$300,000
July 6	12:34 AM EDT	EF0	Ionia, MI	0.8	150		$50,000
July 6	1:00 AM EDT	EF0	Clinton, MI	1.6	80		$50,000

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.