COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Monday’s severe weather stayed just to the north of Branch County as strong thunderstorms pushed across the region with the worst of it including plenty of damage in the town of Portland in Ionia county northwest of Lansing where an EF-1 tornado touched down.
No warnings were issued Monday for Branch County although the County was placed under a severe thunderstorm watch yesterday afternoon and was part of the tornado watch issued last night for most of the area and then was allowed to expire at 3 a.m. today. Branch and the other southern most tier of counties had some brief heavy downpours and occasional gusty winds up to 30 mph.
The National Weather Service says the Portland tornado was on the ground for about ten minutes yesterday afternoon and public safety crews checked every building looking for people and fortunately no fatalities were reported. The twister first touched down about two miles west of the city. It ripped roofs off of businesses and churches and also caused a roof collapse at Goodwill. 5 people suffered minor injuries inside the store. A dozen businesses, 3 historic churches and over 70 homes were heavily damaged or destroyed.
