National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Overview

On the evening of May 15th, 2025 a severe weather system moved across Southern Lower Michigan. That system brought widespread damaging winds and 11 tornadoes across Lower Michigan. Eight of those tornadoes occurred in southwest and southcentral Michigan. Thankfully there were no injuries or fatalities directly related to the storm damage. 

Tornadoes

Select a tornado from the table to zoom into the track and view more information. The default table view is limited to 8 tracks, but can be scrolled by a mouse wheel or dynamically expanded. Additionally, the table can fill the entire window by clicking the small circular expanding arrow icon at the very top right of the table and returned to its original size by clicking the button again. The side information panel that opens over the map can be closed using the "X" on the upper right corner of the pop-up. Zoom into the map and click damage points to see detailed information and pictures from the surveys.


EF-Scale

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0
Weak

65-85 mph
EF1
Moderate
86-110 mph
EF2
Significant
111-135 mph
EF3
Severe
136-165 mph
EF4
Extreme
166-200 mph
EF5
Catastrophic
200+ mph
ef-scale
Tornadoes that fail to impact any ratable structures on the EF-Scale are rated EF-Unknown (EF-U)

 

Tornado Tracks

Radar Image Radar Image Radar Image Radar Image
Calhoun County  Eaton to Ingham County Elmdale Galesburg
Radar Image Radar Image Radar Image Radar Image
Gun Lake Martin Sandy Pines Southern Ottawa

 

Radar

 Radar Reflectivity

Radar Velocity

Radar Storm Relative Velocity

Radar Image Radar Image Four Panel Image showing, Reflectivity, Storm Relative Velocity,  4PanelMay15_2025_1130PM
Tornadic Debris Signature 4 Panel showing Strong tornadic signature moving onshore at 9:59PM 4 Panel showing Tornadic signature as of 10:06 PM 4 Panel with Reflectivity, Storm Relative Velocity, Correlation Coefficient and NROT

Wind Reports

Peak Thunderstorm Wind Gusts

Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official.


Photos & Video

Damage Photos

 
Photo Photo Photo Photo
Eaton County
(NWS Employee)
Gratiot County
(NWS Employee)
Damaged Outbuilding
(NWS)
Trees on roads Ingham county
(NWS Employee)

Damage Photos

Collapsed Barn, Charlotte MI
Wakazoo Woods
(Ottawa County EM)
Wakazoo Woods
(MLive)
Collapsed Barn, Charlotte
(NWS)
Tree on House Wakazoo Woods
(Holland Sentinal)

Storm Reports

Wide Spread Damage Across the region as a bowing line with embedded thunderstorms brought damaging winds and tornadoes across southern Lower Michigan. 

"magnify"

Consumers Power Energy Map


Environment

SPC Upper Air Data

SPC Analysis of May 15, 2025

 

Upper Air Data

Environment 700 MB Upper Air Data 16 May 2025 00Z Environment
500 MB at 8 PM 15 May 2025 700 mb at 8 PM 15 May 2025 925 MB at 8 PM 15 May 2025


Near-storm environment summary.

Environment Environment Environment
Mesoscale Discussion #800 Valid 15 May 2025 11:30 PM Mesoscale Discussion #801 Valid 16 May 12:45 AM NWS Detroit Upper Air Skew-T 15 May 2025 at 8 PM


Storm Prediction Center Analysis.

Environment Environment Environment
Day 1  Outlook Storm Prediction Center Severe Weather Threats  CAPE as of 15May2025 9 PM

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