Union Lake tornado damage by MSP Emergency Management & Homeland Security Division

Fox 2 Detroit reports that the National Weather Service has confirmed that three separate tornadoes ripped through southwestern Michigan Friday night:

A lone supercell developed in La Porte County, Indiana, that moved up into Cass, St Joseph, and Branch counties in Michigan, where the death and destruction happened. Four people have died, including a 12-year-old boy in Cass County, and three people in Union City. Penni Jo Guthrie was identified as one of the three Union City victims. The other two have not been identified publicly yet.

…The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado had touched down in Union City. An EF-3 tornado with winds reaching at least 150mph has been confirmed according to their initial assessment. An EF-2 tornado was confirmed to have touched down in Three Rivers, and a third tornado was confirmed in the Edwardsburg area, but no rating was assigned to it as of Saturday evening.

Governor Whitmer activated the State Emergency Operations Center Friday night & you can head over to their Facebook for some Michigan State Police Drone overflight videos.

Disasters are always magnets for scams, so it’s important to research who’s asking and where it’s going. The good people over at Michigan Storm Chasers are sharing great info on their Facebook & have created an Amazon Wish List for relief efforts that I encourage you to consider. If you want to include something for the four legged homies who are also hit hard by disaster, the Humane Society of Southwest Michigan is a good option.

Here’s a video of the tornado that caused the damage in the photo above. There’s something extra terrifying about seeing a tornado across a frozen lake.