April O'Neil / news@WHMI.com

The National Weather Service on Friday confirmed a level EF-1 tornado touched down Thursday evening in Ingham County and crossed into western Livingston County in the area of I-96 near Fowlerville.

Wind speeds of 90 MPH were reported in the area around 9:30 p.m., causing downed trees and power lines, along with an overwhelming amount of car accidents along I-96.

Preliminary information shows that after entering Livingston County, the tornado remained on the ground for a mile or less before “weakening and lifting,” said Dave Gurney, a meteorologist with the weather service’s office in Oakland County’s White Lake Township.

The EF Scale, or "Enhanced Fugita" Scale, rates tornado categories from zero to five based on wind speed and damage indicators (DIs) such as building type, structures, and trees. The EF scale incorporates more damage indicators and degrees of damage than the original Fujita scale, allowing more detailed analysis and better correlation between damage and wind speed.

The EF-1 tornado reportedly originated in Ingham County, with wind speeds reported somewhere between 86-110 MPH for at least a three second period, with "moderate" damages to the immediate area.

A total of five fatalities were reported from storm-related incidents, including car accidents and downed trees. One person was killed in a wreck on EB I-96 that occurred near Williamston Road around 9:45 p.m. The accident involved more than 25 cars and I-96 still remains closed in that area for clean-up.

The storm made it to Oakland County around 10:00 p.m. and tracked north into Genesee County around 10:15 p.m. Winds began to die down, but still remained powerful with reported damages, as the storm entered Macomb and areas of Wayne County after 10:30 p.m.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer activated the State Emergency Operations Center in Lansing to provide support to affected communities “as they respond to the impacts of flooding.” Heavy flooding impacted areas of Wayne County, where Wayne County Executive, Warren Evans, declared a state of emergency Friday.

As of 12:00 p.m. Friday, DTE reported more than 20,000 customers without power in Livingston County. In Ingham County, just under 5,000 customers were in the dark.

In total, the storm knocked out power to over 430,000 residents and businesses throughout the state.

Consumers Energy says they have deployed lineman and repair crews from across the country to help restore power to affected areas over the weekend.

A link to the National Weather Service's EF-1 analysis can be found at the provided link.


Photo Courtesy of Fowlerville Area Fire Department, cleaning debris following Thursday's tornado.