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Severe Thunderstorms and Flooding from the Southern Plains to the Great Lakes; Record Heat in the East

Widely scattered severe thunderstorms may produce damaging winds, hail, and flash flooding from the southern Plains into the lower Great Lakes. Elevated to locally critical fire weather conditions will persist across portions of the Southwest and Southern High Plains due to gusty winds and dry conditions. An early-season heatwave will challenge temperature records across the eastern U.S.. Read More >

Overview of the August 24, 2023 Tornadoes and Severe Weather Event

On August 24, 2023, severe thunderstorms formed over western Lower Michigan during the evening hours in the midst of an extremely unstable environment that also featured dew point readings (a measure of atmospheric moisture) around 80F, some of the highest we have seen over the last 60 years. These thunderstorms spawned two tornadoes in western Lower Michigan. The first tornado touched down in west central Kent County from Alpine Township to Plainfield Township, rated an EF-1 on a scale of 0 to 5 (with 5 being the most intense). The second tornado touched down in eastern Ingham County from Williamston to Webberville, before continuing on into Livingston County, and was rated an EF-2 in Ingham County before weakening to an EF-1 in Livingston County. In addition to the tornadoes, the thunderstorms produced numerous areas of 60 to 70 mph wind gusts and very high amounts of lightning. The combination of the tornadoes, strong wind gusts, and continuous lightning wiped out power to around 460,000 customers statewide at the height of the event.

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Tornado damage to the 5600 block of Alpine Ave (M-37) in Kent County

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