Tornadoes · United States · Michigan · 2017
EF1 tornado, Saint Joseph County, Michigan, February 28, 2017
This EF1 tornado ran 2.0 miles across Saint Joseph County on February 28, 2017, touching down at 9:38 PM EST and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody.
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
- February 28, 2017
- Touchdown
- 9:38 PM EST (02:38 UTC)
- Lifted
- 9:40 PM EST (02:40 UTC)
- On the ground
- 2 minutes
- Path length
- 2.0 miles (3.3 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Saint Joseph County
- Touchdown point
- 41.918, -85.491
- Lift-off point
- 41.928, -85.454
- Record number
- 1702282038-01
The damage survey
12 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS IWX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 81 mph.
- Large diameter, rotten branch broke off.
- Shallow rooted tree or bush with leaves uprooted.
- Southwest corner of barn lost several panels. Some loss on NW side as well visible from picture. Some splattering below opening.
- Loss of roof panels on structure to NW of barn (only corner of structure seen).
Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.
The warnings
No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.
The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 00:38 UTC and running to 07:43 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:38 UTC | 07:43 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | IWX |
| 01:52 UTC | 02:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX |
| 02:40 UTC | 03:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX |
| 02:59 UTC | 03:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX |
| 03:17 UTC | 09:15 UTC | Flash Flood Warning | IWX |
| 06:30 UTC | 07:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX |
| 06:35 UTC | 07:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX |
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 00:57 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), 00:00Z
2.6 hours before the tornado, 190 km from the path. March 1, 2017.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 8 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -323 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 464 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 60 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 384 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 383 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.5 K/km
Detroit, MI (KDTX), 12:00Z
9.4 hours after it, 190 km from the path. March 1, 2017.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -91184 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 936 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 81 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 116 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 50 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.6 K/km
The surface observations
Three Rivers (HAI), 11 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:55 UTC | 54.5 | 54.3 | 190° 9 kt | 1004.1 | ||
| 01:15 UTC | 55.4 | 55 | 200° 11 kt | 15 | 1003.7 | |
| 01:35 UTC | 56 | 55.4 | 190° 10 kt | 1002.7 | -RA | |
| 01:55 UTC | 56.7 | 56.3 | 210° 12 kt | 21 | 1002.7 | RA |
| 02:15 UTC | 57.2 | 56.3 | 180° 12 kt | 16 | 1001.7 | -RA |
| 02:35 UTC | 58 | 57 | 270° 18 kt | 23 | 1003.4 | +RA |
| 02:55 UTC | 56.3 | 53.4 | 260° 12 kt | 24 | 1002.7 | RA |
| 03:15 UTC | 55 | 52.7 | 270° 10 kt | 18 | 1002.4 | +RA |
| 03:35 UTC | 54.5 | 52.3 | 250° 5 kt | 1002 | RA | |
| 03:55 UTC | 54 | 52.7 | 250° 5 kt | 1001.4 | RA | |
| 04:15 UTC | 54 | 52.7 | 220° 5 kt | 1001 | RA | |
| 04:35 UTC | 53.8 | 53 | 200° 5 kt | 1001.4 | +RA |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 65 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:37 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01:58 UTC | TORNADO | 3 N Pokagon | Cass, MI | EF-1 TORNADO CONFIRMED.TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN FIELD SOUTHWEST OF DOWAGIAC AND TRACKED ACROSS SOUTH SIDE OF TOWN. TWO MOBILE HOMES DESTROYED ALONG WITH WIDESPREAD TREE DAMAGE, AND ADDITIONAL MINOR DAMAGE TO A HOUSE. ESTI |
| 02:00 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Dowagiac | Cass, MI | A FEW POWER POLES DOWNED ON M51. |
| 02:05 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Wnw Paradise Lake | Cass, MI | SEVERAL LARGE TREES DOWNED ALONG CALVIN CENTER RD AND BROWNSVILLE ST. |
| 02:12 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Se Diamond Lake | Cass, MI | EF-1 TORNADO CONFIRMED. TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN SOUTH OF BROWNSVILLE ST WEST OF CALVIN CENTER RD IN A WOODED AREA AND THEN TRAVELED NORTHEAST. SOME MINOR DAMAGE OCCURRED TO A CHURCH. EXTENSIVE TREE DAMAGE AND STRUCTURAL DAM |
| 02:18 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 E Shavehead Lake | Cass, MI | LARGE TREE DOWNED ACROSS ROAD. |
| 02:25 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 N Nottawa | St. Joseph, MI | TREE DOWNED ON POWER LINE. |
| 02:38 UTC | TORNADO | 2 E Centreville | St. Joseph, MI | EF1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN A FIELD SOUTHWEST OF THE INTERSECTION OF M-86 AND RAMBADT RD AND TRACKED RAPIDLY NORTHEAST, CAUSING DAMAGE TO SEVERAL TREES, AS WELL AS ROOF DAMAGE TO 2 FARM BUILDINGS AND A HOME. THE TORNADO LIF |
| 02:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 S Colon | St. Joseph, MI | REPORT OF TREE DOWNED ON POWER LINE. |
| 02:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 S Colon | St. Joseph, MI | TWO TREES DAMAGED AT MANOR RD AND PALMER ST INTERSECTION. 1 TREE WAS SNAPPED ABOUT HALFWAY UP, THE OTHER BROKEN AT THE BASE. TREES APPEARED HEALTHY AND WERE ABOUT 1-2 FT IN DIAMETER. SOUTH OF THAT INTERSECTION, SOME POWE |
| 02:50 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Se Colon | St. Joseph, MI | TREE DOWN ON CAR, TREE WAS ABOUT 1-2 FT IN DIAMETER AND APPEARED HEALTHY. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR. |
| 03:14 UTC | TSTM WND GST 41 | Marshall | Calhoun, MI | AWOS STATION MARSHALL BROOKS FIELD /RMY/. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2017 tornado in MichiganEvery tornado in Michigan since 1950Warnings in force in Michigan nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of February 28, 2017
29 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 28 | 3:53 PM CST | EF0 | Clinton, IA | 0.0 | 25 | |||
| February 28 | 4:12 PM CST | EF1 | Stark, IL | 5.5 | 100 | $100,000 | ||
| February 28 | 4:27 PM CST | EF0 | LaSalle, IL | 1.8 | 50 | |||
| February 28 | 4:41 PM CST | EF3 | LaSalle, IL | 11.5 | 800 | 2 | 14 | |
| February 28 | 4:44 PM CST | EF1 | Whiteside, IL | 2.6 | 75 | |||
| February 28 | 4:58 PM CST | EF1 | LaSalle, IL | 2.8 | 200 | |||
| February 28 | 5:04 PM CST | EF0 | Grundy, IL | 1.2 | 200 | |||
| February 28 | 5:07 PM CST | EF1 | Ogle, IL | 1.5 | 50 | |||
| February 28 | 5:10 PM CST | EF0 | Peoria, IL | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| February 28 | 5:15 PM CST | EF0 | Peoria, IL | 0.9 | 100 | $75,000 | ||
| February 28 | 5:26 PM CST | EF3 | Marshall, IL | 17.8 | 600 | $2.0 million | ||
| February 28 | 5:52 PM CST | EF2 | Livingston, IL | 5.6 | 75 | |||
| February 28 | 6:40 PM CST | EF1 | Reynolds, MO | 4.4 | 80 | |||
| February 28 | 7:03 PM CST | EF1 | White, AR | 1.4 | 120 | 4 | $50,000 | |
| February 28 | 7:07 PM CST | EF2 | White, AR | 1.1 | 250 | 1 | $70,000 | |
| February 28 | 7:16 PM CST | EF0 | Madison, MO | 4.4 | 50 | |||
| February 28 | 7:51 PM CST | EF4 | Perryville tornado, Missouri and Illinois | 53.5 | 1,100 | 1 | 12 | $15 million |
| February 28 | 8:54 PM EST | EF1 | Berrien, MI | 0.6 | 100 | |||
| February 28 | 8:58 PM EST | EF1 | Cass, MI | 5.0 | 100 | |||
| February 28 | 9:12 PM EST | EF1 | Cass, MI | 2.7 | 150 | |||
| February 28 | 9:33 PM CST | EF1 | Brown, IL | 0.7 | 50 | 1 | ||
| February 28 | 9:43 PM CST | EF1 | Bureau, IL | 2.3 | 50 | |||
| February 28 | 9:55 PM CST | EF3 | White, IL to IN | 44.1 | 440 | 1 | 2 | $5.7 million |
| February 28 | 10:35 PM CST | EF0 | Calloway, KY | 8.8 | 30 | $70,000 | ||
| February 28 | 10:37 PM CST | EF0 | Crawford, KS | 0.1 | 75 | $50,000 | ||
| February 28 | 10:43 PM CST | EF0 | Crawford, KS | 0.1 | 75 | $10,000 | ||
| February 28 | 10:44 PM CST | EF1 | Williamson, IL | 7.4 | 25 | $6,000 | ||
| February 28 | 12:03 AM EST | EF2 | Dubois, IN | 5.8 | 150 | $350,000 | ||
| February 28 | 11:28 PM CST | EF1 | Trigg, KY | 8.6 | 400 | $300,000 |
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.