Tornadoes · United States · Michigan · 2021

EF0 tornado, Dover to Browns Corner, Michigan, June 26, 2021

From Dover to Browns Corner, this EF0 tornado ran 3.7 miles across Clare County on June 26, 2021, touching down at 5:09 PM EDT and reaching 100 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 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.

The record

Rating
EF0
Date
June 26, 2021
Touchdown
5:09 PM EDT (21:09 UTC)
Lifted
5:16 PM EDT (21:16 UTC)
On the ground
7 minutes
Path length
3.7 miles (6.0 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$100,000
County
Clare County
Touchdown point
43.860, -84.730
Lift-off point
43.900, -84.680
Record number
2106261509-01

The damage survey

2 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS GRR, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 85 mph.

  • Beginning location of tornado. 3 miles Northeast of Clare near Surrey road and cornwell Avenue
  • Trees snapped or sheared along the line. Near the end of the path a section of metal roofing was torn off a barn.

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

What the Weather Service recorded

A low pressure system and warm front combined to setup conditions favorable for the development of several weak tornadoes on June 26th. Storm damage surveys were conducted and it was determined that two EF-1 tornadoes occurred and that several EF-0 tornadoes occurred.

An NWS storm survey concluded that an EF-0 tornado occurred with a path length of about a hundred yards. The upwind side of a barn wall was partly caved in. Tree limbs were snapped and a house attachment or garage-like structure on cinderblocks was destroyed. One large and healthy tree northeast of the garage-like structure damage and along the centerline of the tornado track was completely delimbed. Elsewhere, there were trees snapped or sheared. Near the end of the path a section of metal roofing was torn off a barn.

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.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
19:39 UTC19:54 UTCTornado WarningGRR

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 20:00 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.

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

9.2 hours before the tornado, 165 km from the path. June 26, 2021.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Detroit, MI at 12:00Z on 2021-06-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 492 joules per kilogram, CIN -3, lifted condensation level 493 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 2021-06-26The 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 90 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 42 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
492 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Surface CAPE
142 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
493 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
90 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
139 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.5
0-3 km lapse rate
4.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Detroit, MI (KDTX), 00:00Z

2.8 hours after it, 165 km from the path. June 27, 2021.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Detroit, MI at 00:00Z on 2021-06-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 651 joules per kilogram, CIN -4, lifted condensation level 832 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 2021-06-27The 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 309 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 41 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
651 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Surface CAPE
564 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
832 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
309 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
359 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.1
Supercell composite
5.9
0-3 km lapse rate
6.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Mount Pleasant (MOP), 29 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
19:15 UTC7674190° 5 kt1010.2
19:35 UTC75.474.30° 0 kt1009.8RA
19:55 UTC74.774.5160° 4 kt1009.5RA
20:15 UTC7575130° 3 kt1008.8-RA
20:35 UTC75.275.2160° 6 kt1008.8RA
20:55 UTC75.675.6170° 11 kt141008.5-RA
21:15 UTC75.775.7160° 8 kt1007.8+RA
21:35 UTC75.775.7180° 11 kt201008.1
21:55 UTC75.275.2200° 10 kt161008.5
22:15 UTC7575200° 9 kt181008.5
22:35 UTC76.373.6220° 11 kt161008.5
22:55 UTC7673.4210° 13 kt161008.5

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

The radar

The NCL Michigan radar (KAPX), 114 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:06 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
19:33 UTCTORNADO1 Sw SylvesterMecosta, MIEF-1 WITH PATH LENGTH ABOUT 3 MILES. WOOD BARN HEAVILY DAMAGED. CENTER PIVOT IRRIGATION TIPPED OVER. OPEN AIR ANIMAL BARN SHEET METAL ROOF TORN APART AND POWER POLES SNAPPED DOWNWIND.
19:39 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Ne SylvesterMecosta, MIROOF OFF OF BARN, TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN.
21:09 UTCTORNADO3 Ne ClareClare, MIEF-0 WITH PATH LENGTH ABOUT 3.6 MILES. BARN WALL PARTLY CAVED IN. HOUSE ATTACHMENT ON CINDERBLOCKS DESTROYED. TREES DAMAGED ALONG MUCH OF THE PATH. SECTION OF METAL ROOF TORN OFF BARN NEAR THE END OF THE PATH.
21:35 UTCHEAVY RAIN 1.813 N SkeelsGladwin, MIRAINFALL SINCE 8 AM THIS MORNING. 1.20 INCHES OF RAIN FELL IN THE LAST 35 MINUTES (SINCE 5 PM).
23:15 UTCHEAVY RAIN 1.213 Se West BranchOgemaw, MIAWOS STATION KY31 WEST BRANCH.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2021 tornado in MichiganEvery tornado in Michigan since 1950Warnings in force in Michigan nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 26, 2021

11 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 261:26 PM CDTUnratedGreene, IL0.125
June 261:29 PM CDTEF0Lake, IN3.3250
June 262:06 PM CDTEF0Will, IL4.1100
June 263:31 PM EDTEF0Ottawa, MI2.425$100,000
June 263:33 PM EDTEF1Mecosta, MI2.9100$100,000
June 264:23 PM EDTEF0Kent, MI0.650$50,000
June 264:31 PM EDTEF0Ionia, MI1.125$75,000
June 263:35 PM CDTEF0Logan, IL0.275
June 264:40 PM EDTEF1Ionia, MI5.050$250,000
June 264:36 PM CDTEF0Livingston, IL0.775
June 265:49 PM EDTEF2Huron, MI6.84006$1.9 million

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.