EF0 tornado, Monroe Custer Arpt to Grosse Ile Nas, Michigan, September 25, 2018

1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

   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 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.

Rating

EF0

Date

September 25, 2018

Touchdown

8:45 PM EDT (00:45 UTC)

Lifted

8:52 PM EDT (00:52 UTC)

On the ground

7 minutes

Path length

4.1 miles (6.6 km)

Path width

250 yards (229 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$300,000

Counties

Monroe and Wayne counties

Touchdown point

42.036, -83.264

Lift-off point

42.087, -83.225

Record number

1809251845-01

38 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS DTX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 97 mph.

• Soft soil wind estimate of 60-65 mph
• Soft soil wind estimated 60-65 mph
• Loss of roofing material but no uplift of roof decking. Wind speed estimated at 100 mph.
• Overhang above patio flipped onto roof of house. Wind speeds estimated.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

A robust upper level trough approached the western Great Lakes on September 25, while low pressure developed over northern Lower Michigan along a cold front draped over the region. Ahead of this cold front, southwest winds brought warm and moist air (dew points exceeding 70 degrees in a few areas) to Southeast Michigan during the daytime and evening hours. This moist air mass paired with ample wind shear was sufficient to generate three tornadoes, impacting northern Monroe and southern Wayne counties.

The path began as weak EF0 damage, mainly to trees, until near Reinhardt and Heiss roads where it became a solid EF0. The tornado reached EF1 strength near Toben and South Stony Creek roads where roofing material was removed leaving exposed trusses and windows that were blown out of homes in the area. Garage doors were also blown in and many trees were damaged and uprooted. EF0 damage to siding and tree limbs was noted before the tornado dissipated near North Stoney Creek road and the railroad|tracks.

An EF0 tornado began in Berlin Township in Monroe County just south of Sigler Road on North Dixie Highway. The tornado moved northeast about 2 miles before exiting Monroe County in South Rockwood. The tornado continue for another 2 miles before dissipating in Wayne County. The tornado remained at EF0 strength throughout the entire path. Damage in Monroe County included multiple limbs and large trees downed.

This tornado began in Berlin Township in Monroe County about 2 miles south of South Rockwood. The tornado entered Wayne County in Rockwood and then continued for another 2 miles, before dissipating near the intersection of Meadow Lane and Ostreich Road near the border of Brownstown Charter Township and the city of Gibraltar. The tornado remained at EF0 strength throughout the entire path length. Damage included multiple limbs and large trees downed, along with missing shingles to a house near the end of the tornado path.

An EF1 tornado began just to the west of W Jefferson Ave and south of Gibraltar Road. The tornado remained at EF1 strength up to the Navarre Street and Young Drive area, before weakening to EF0 strength for the remainder of the path. The tornado then crossed the Detroit River before dissipating at the north end of Elba Island in Grosse Ile Township. Damage included multiple large limbs and trees downed, a roof partially blown off and power lines downed.

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

27 minutes of warning. NWS DTX issued a tornado warning for this county at 00:18 UTC, 27 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 01:00 UTC.

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 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 19:38 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 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/Grosse I (ONZ), 8 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 73 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:46 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.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

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

The live radar over the trackEvery 2018 tornado in MichiganEvery tornado in Michigan since 1950Warnings in force in Michigan nowThe forecast where you are

7 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.