4Warn Weather – Severe weather is possible across Lower Michigan on Tuesday, including a threat for an isolated tornado.
The entire Lower Peninsula is included in the marginal risk category for severe storms, while the southern central portion of the peninsula is listed under slight risk. Here’s more on what that means and what to expect.
When are severe storms possible in Michigan?
The window for severe storms in Southeast Michigan arrives later this afternoon into the evening, according to 4Warn Weather’s Ashlee Baracy.
- Areas west of I-75 and US-23 are under a slight risk for afternoon storms with scattered wind gusts up to 60 mph.
- The rest of Southeast Michigan is under a marginal risk for isolated severe wind gusts as these storms track east between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.
---> More from Ashlee: Severe storms possible Tuesday as rain covers Metro Detroit
What are the biggest threats?
The biggest threats with these storms is damaging winds, and an isolated tornado, especially in central southern Michigan.
Additional showers and thunderstorms are possible this afternoon and evening. Primary hazard will be damaging wind gusts with great potential over central southern MI. An isolated weak tornado can't be completely ruled out as well. #miwx pic.twitter.com/TFL4ZAlnnv
— NWS Detroit (@NWSDetroit) March 26, 2024
What do the risk levels mean?
Marginal, Slight, Enhanced, Moderate, and High risks represent progressively larger threats for organized severe storm episodes. Here’s a breakdown:
Thunderstorms (light green) - General or non-severe thunderstorms - Delineates, to the right of a line, where a 10% or greater probability of thunderstorms is forecast during the valid period.
1-Marginal (dark green) - Marginal risk - An area of severe storms of either limited organization and longevity, or very low coverage and marginal intensity.
2-Slight (yellow) - Slight risk - An area of organized severe storms, which is not widespread in coverage with varying levels of intensity.
3-Enhanced (orange) - Enhanced risk - An area of greater (relative to Slight risk) severe storm coverage with varying levels of intensity.
4-Moderate (red) - Moderate risk - An area where widespread severe weather with several tornadoes and/or numerous severe thunderstorms is likely, some of which should be intense. This risk is usually reserved for days with several supercells producing intense tornadoes and/or very large hail, or an intense squall line with widespread damaging winds.
5-High (magenta) - High risk - An area where a severe weather outbreak is expected from either numerous intense and long-tracked tornadoes or a long-lived derecho-producing thunderstorm complex that produces hurricane-force wind gusts and widespread damage. This risk is reserved for when high confidence exists in widespread coverage of severe weather with embedded instances of extreme severe (i.e., violent tornadoes or very damaging convective wind events).
---> Watches, warnings, risks: Understanding Michigan’s severe weather alert terms
---> Here’s the Michigan weather outlook for April 2024
How can I track the Michigan storms?
You can track live radar, weather alerts and enable severe storm notifications with the free 4Warn Weather app, available in your Appstore.
Download here: Apple Store Download here: Google Play
You can also find the latest forecast updates on ClickOnDetroit, and streaming through the day and evening on Local 4+