The National Weather Service issued the first ever “tornado emergency” alert in Michigan history on Tuesday.
A strong line of storms moved through West Michigan on Tuesday afternoon, triggering multiple tornado warnings, and one tornado emergency.
The alert was issued for a Union City and Sherwood. It expired at 6:30 p.m.
Tornado Emergency continues for Union City MI and Sherwood MI until 6:30 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/ax05paiCC2
— NWS Tornado (@NWStornado) May 7, 2024
It’s a rare alert that goes above the tornado warning. The criteria for a tornado emergency alert is the following:
a. Severe threat to human life is imminent or ongoing.
b. Catastrophic damage is imminent or ongoing.
c Reliable sources confirm tornado (either 1 or 2):
1. Visual.
2. Radar imagery strongly suggests the existence of a damaging tornado (a debris ball signature, for example).
WOOD-TV is reporting at least two possible confirmed tornadoes in West Michigan, including in Portage.