Massive tornado destroys FedEx building
The video shows an enormous tornado bearing down on Portage, Michigan and destroyed a FedEx Building. Steve Bender reports that the city saw a second potential tornado 15 minutes later.
PORTAGE, Mich. – Powerful thunderstorms caused chaos in the U.S. for the second straight day this week, targeting the Midwest on Tuesday where significant damage was reported.
A line of showers and thunderstorms charged eastward earlier Tuesday, briefly drenching multiple states across parts of the Midwest. By Tuesday afternoon, new severe storms erupted across the region.
Significant damage was reported in Portage, Michigan, after a tornado-warned storm moved through the town just south of Kalamazoo. Images posted on social media showed major damage to a FedEx facility in the city. The city of about 50,000 people went under a second tornado warning about an hour later.
“Please avoid any travel in the City of Portage until further notice,” Portage Public Safety officials wrote on Facebook.
A Tornado Emergency, the most dire of tornado alerts, was issued for Union City, Michigan, where the National Weather Service said a “large and destructive tornado” was moving through the area. Catastrophic damage was expected. There were several reports of trees and buildings being damaged by this story. This was the first time a Tornado Emergency had been issued in Michigan.
Chopper video from FOX 32 Chicago showed damage to a barn near Harvard, Illinois, from a possible tornado. Rescue workers could be seen sifting through the rubble. FOX 32 reported that four animals were killed when the barn collapsed.
FOX Weather Storm Tracker Brandon Copic showed video of a tornado moving through an area near Milroy, Indiana.
‘This is not warned, this is a tornado on the ground’
Exclusive FOX Weather Storm Tracker Brandon Copic in Milroy, Indiana caught a tornado on the ground live on TV in an area that was not under a Tornado Warning. He asked FOX Weather to alert the NWS.
About 30,000 power outages have been reported in Michigan, according to PowerOutage.us.
Tuesday’s forecast
Unlike Monday, the storms on Tuesday will likely form in clusters and lines rather than intense supercells, according to the FOX Forecast Center. This will make large, tennis ball-sized hail and damaging wind gusts to 70 mph the primary severe storm threats with a few tornadoes possible, too.
SPC has highlighted a larger area where any tornadoes could become strong (EF-2 or higher). That includes Indianapolis in Indiana, Columbus and Cincinnati in Ohio and Louisville and Lexington in Kentucky. More than 13 million there have been included in a Level 3 out of 5 risk of severe weather.
MAY IS PEAK MONTH FOR TORNADOES IN THE U.S.
The severe weather outlook for Tuesday. (FOX Weather)
Severe weather threat expands on Wednesday
Numerous severe thunderstorms are expected on Wednesday from parts of the southern Plains into the mid-Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee valleys.
On Wednesday, the severe weather ingredients look to be higher compared to Tuesday, meaning there is likely a better opportunity for tornadoes. The FOX Forecast Center believes some of those twisters could be strong, long-track tornadoes.
One of the big unknowns is the coverage of thunderstorm activity on Wednesday morning. More widespread storms early in the day would limit the severe weather potential for Wednesday afternoon, so this part of the forecast will need to be closely monitored.
Some larger cities such as Memphis and Nashville in Tennessee, St. Louis in Missouri and Louisville and Lexington in Kentucky all face the risk of severe weather on Wednesday.
HOW YOU SHOULD PREPARE FOR A TORNADO
The severe weather outlook for Wednesday. (FOX Weather)
Severe storms shift south and east on Thursday
On Thursday, a broad area of severe storms is possible from parts of Central and East Texas into the lower Mississippi Valley and Southeast, extending northeastward into parts of the Carolinas and mid-Atlantic.
Damaging winds and hail will likely be the primary threats, though a tornado or two can’t be ruled out.
The FOX Forecast Center said the exact timing of these storms is a bit uncertain as it will depend on what happens with the severe weather on Wednesday, but the most likely time period for severe thunderstorms will be during the afternoon and into the evening.
WHICH U.S. COUNTIES ARE MOST AT RISK OF TORNADO DAMAGE?
The severe weather outlook for Thursday. (FOX Weather)
Additionally, more flooding is possible, particularly across eastern portions of Texas, where catastrophic flooding already occurred last week and over the weekend. Between 2 and 3 inches of additional rain is expected to fall in that region.
