March 6th 2026 Severe Weather and Tornadoes in Southern Lower Michigan

News Headlines

Overview

On the afternoon of March 6th, 2026, a lone supercell developed in La Porte County, IN and tracked northeast into Lower Michigan. The supercell moved through Cass, St Joseph, and Branch counties. There were numerous reports called in to our office and videos posted on social media by storm chasers, broadcast media, trained spotters, and the public confirming tornado damage in Edwardsburg, Three Rivers, and Union City. The north side of Union Lake in Union City was one of the hardest hit areas with numerous homes taking on significant damage and trees sheared off. Several businesses in the city of Three Rivers also sustained notable damage. Unfortunately, there have been multiple confirmed fatalities and injuries. 3 fatalities have been confirmed in Branch County and 1 fatality occurred in Cass County; there were also 12 confirmed injuries in Union City (Branch County) and several others in the Edwardsburg area (Cass county).

Survey Updates: March 7th, 2026 as of 7:38 pm EST

A team went out and conducted surveys of the Three Rivers, MI and Union City, MI tornadoes during the day on March 7th, 2026. Here are the preliminary ratings of these tornadoes. NWS IWX is reviewing additional drone, video/photo evidence for these tornadoes and will provide updates on path, timing, etc. once finalized.

An additional survey is planned for the Edwardsburg, MI Tornado on Sunday March 8th, 2026. A PNS will be sent out sometime during the afternoon or evening of March 8th, 2026 for this event. Monitor our website for the latest.

Our hearts go out to anyone affected by the severe storms. We appreciate everyone who has sent in pictures, videos, and reports to us of damage including emergency management, trained spotters, broadcast media, storm chasers, and the public.

Tornado
Hail
Photo & Video
Radar
Storm Reports
Environmental

Tornadoes

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NOTE: times shown below are local to your device's time zone.

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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

Tornadoes that fail to impact any ratable damage indicators on the EF-Scale are rated EF-Unknown (EF-U)

Hail

Several reports of quarter to golf ball size hail were reported along the supercell's path from Cassopolis to Mendon.

Preliminary Local Storm Report...Summary
National Weather Service Northern Indiana
105 AM EST Sat Mar 7 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0157 PM     Hail             2 NNE Westville         41.56N 86.90W
03/06/2026  M1.75 Inch       La Porte           IN   Public           

            Location and time estimated by radar. Public 
            commenter listed Westville. 

0351 PM     Hail             1 ESE Fishers Lake      41.98N 85.55W
03/06/2026  M1.75 Inch       St. Joseph         MI   Public           

            Photo on Facebook shows a hailstone measured 
            to be 1.75 inches. Public reports it fell 
            between Mendon and Three Rivers. Time 
            estimated via radar. 

0352 PM     Hail             Mendon                  42.01N 85.46W
03/06/2026  E1.50 Inch       St. Joseph         MI   Public           

            Hail estimated to be between 1 to 1.5 inches 
            in diameter seen in a photo on Facebook from 
            Mendon, MI. Time estimated via radar. 

0320 PM     Hail             Cassopolis              41.91N 86.01W
03/06/2026  E1.00 Inch       Cass               MI   Public           

            Video shows hail up to a quarter in size in 
            Cassopolis, Time estimated via radar. 

0349 PM     Hail             Three Rivers            41.94N 85.63W
03/06/2026  E1.00 Inch       St. Joseph         MI   Public           

            Photo of hail up to a quarter in diameter in 
            a photo taken on Marcellus Rd in Three 
            Rivers. Time estimated via radar. 

0358 PM     Hail             2 SE Moore Park         41.99N 85.62W
03/06/2026  M0.75 Inch       St. Joseph         MI   Public           

            Report from mPING: Dime (0.75 in.).


Golf Ball-Sized Hail in Mendon, MI Photo: Brooke Taylor Briggs	Golf Ball-Sized Hail NE of Westville, IN Photo: Peter Roths	Golf Ball-Sized Hail NE of Westville, IN Photo: Peter Roths

Photos & Video

Union City, MI Tornado (Branch County, MI)


The hardest hit area was Prairie Rose Lane on the north side of Union Lake. (517 Drone Video and Photography)	Debris strewn along the north side of Union Lake. (517 Drone Video and Photography)	Union City, MI Damage (Ryan Harriot)	Union City, MI Tornado (Storm Chaser Drew Brummel)

Three Rivers, MI Tornado Damage (St. Joseph County, MI)


Substantial Damage to Menards in Three Rivers, MI (Photo: Riley Kass: My Country Photos)	Three Rivers, MI (Photo: Dom Stacks)	Ash Rd in Three Rivers, MI (Photo: JayCe Bingaman)	Tornado near Cricket Wireless, Three Rivers MI (Relayed to IWX via Acedog11/Kainan Hix/Storm Capture Picture and Videos)

Edwardsburg/Cassopolis, MI Tornado & Storm Damage (Cass County, MI)


Tree damage near the intersection of M62 and Harris Street (Walipini Seeds)	Tree damage near the intersection of M62 and Harris Street (Walipini Seeds)	Damage on Yankee Road in Edwardsburg, MI (Joshua Hodges)	Damage near Cassopolis, MI (Relayed to IWX Via X: @MitchellMossWx)


Tree damage on Yankee Road in Edwardsburg, MI (Photo: Joshua Hodges)	Tree damage on Yankee Road in Edwardsburg, MI (Photo: Joshua Hodges)	Tree damage near the intersection of M62 and Harris Street (Walipini Seeds)	Tree damage near the intersection of M62 and Harris Street (Walipini Seeds)

Radar

The following radar images from GR3 Analyst show reflectivity (top left), velocity (top right), spectrum width (lower left), and correlation coefficient (lower right) for each tornado at select time periods.


Edwardsburg, MI (GR3 Analyst)	Three Rivers, MI (GR3 Analyst)	Union City, MI (GR3Analyst)

Storm Reports

Preliminary Local Storm Report...Summary
National Weather Service Northern Indiana
1057 PM EST Fri Mar 6 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0311 PM     Tornado          2 WNW Edwardsburg       41.81N 86.11W
03/06/2026                   Cass               MI   Broadcast Media  

            Picture obtained of damage to a house in 
            this location. Time estimated by radar. 

0318 PM     Tornado          2 NNW Juno Lake         41.84N 86.00W
03/06/2026                   Cass               MI   Trained Spotter  

            Tree down and toppled center pivot in this 
            location. Time estimated by radar.

0319 PM     Tornado          2 NW Eagle Lake         41.83N 86.05W
03/06/2026                   Cass               MI   Public           

            Several trees snapped and damage to a home 
            on Harris Street near M62. Photos on X. Time 
            estimated via radar. 

0346 PM     Tornado          2 SW Three Rivers       41.93N 85.66W
03/06/2026                   St. Joseph         MI   Public           

            Video sent in showing a tornado hitting the 
            Menards store and lifted at least a portion 
            of the roof off on main building. Their 
            storage unit nearby was also damaged by the 
            tornado. Debris seen flying around the 
            circulation on the video, taken near US 
            131/M-60 merger. Time estimated by radar. 

0348 PM     Tornado          3 WSW Three Rivers      41.92N 85.68W
03/06/2026                   St. Joseph         MI   Broadcast Media  

            Video relayed by broadcast media taken 
            looking north at Three Rivers Waste 
            Management facility. Tornado observed on the 
            ground. Time estimated via radar. 

0350 PM     Tornado          Three Rivers            41.95N 85.63W
03/06/2026                   St. Joseph         MI   Storm Chaser     

            Numerous videos from storm chasers, trained 
            spotters, broadcast media, and the public 
            confirm a tornado in Three Rivers Michigan. 
            Time estimated via radar. 

0352 PM     Tornado          1 SW Three Rivers       41.93N 85.65W
03/06/2026                   St. Joseph         MI   Emergency Mngr   

            Numerous reports of significant damage on 
            the southwest side of Three Rivers. Storm 
            chasers and Emergency Management confirmed 
            multiple tornado touchdowns prior to the 
            damage. 

0438 PM     Tornado          1 W Union City          42.06N 85.16W
03/06/2026                   Branch             MI   Storm Chaser     

            Storm chaser video confirmed tornado near 
            Union City. Location estimated based on 
            radar.

Environment

Despite there only being a Marginal Risk (level 1/5) for severe weather on March 6th, the environment was favorable for tornadoes in the afternoon. A warm front had stalled across the area the night before and was moving slowly northward throughout the afternoon. By 3 PM EST (20Z), the warm front was located along the Indiana Michigan stateline (Figure 7). A supercell developed just after 3 PM and rode the frontal boundary up into Lower Michigan. Because this supercell was right on the boundary, it was able to tap into enhanced lift and instability. Southerly winds had boosted temperatures into the low to mid 70s across the area and there was ample low level moisture being transported into the area. There was 40-50 kts of shear (Figure 5) and a surface based CAPE gradient of 500-2000 J/kg in the area where the supercell moved across far southern Lower Michigan (Figure 9). There was 200-250 m2/s2 of helicity (spin) in the vicinity of the supercell as well, which likely aided in tornado formation (Figure 1). In the timeframe that tornadoes went through far southern Lower Michigan between 3-4 PM EST, both the Significant (EF2+) and Violent (EF4+) Tornado parameters were maximized (Figures 2 & 3) over far northern Indiana and far southern Lower Michigan. This does NOT mean tornadoes of this magnitude occurred but shows the environment is favorable for this type of intensity.


Figure 1: 0-1km analysis at 20Z showing 200-250 m2/s2 of helicity (spin) in Lower Michigan	Figure 2: The Significant Tornado parameter (EF2+) was maximized over Cass, St Joseph, and Branch counties at 20Z	Figure 3: The Violent Tornado parameter (EF4+) was maximized right along the Indiana Michigan border at 20Z


Figure 4: 20Z LCL analysis showing 750m LCLs (favorable) in Lower Michigan and northern Indiana	Figure 5: 20Z 0-6km shear	Figure 6: 20Z 0-1km shear


Figure 7: WPC surface analysis showed a warm front along the Indiana Michigan border as of 21Z	Figure 8: 850mb Moisture transport at 20Z	Figure 9: Surface based CAPE at 20Z showing a tight gradient of 500-200 J/kg right along the Indiana Michigan border

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