BRANCH COUNTY, MI (WTVB) – The scars maybe long gone but for those who were around on this day in 1965, the Palm Sunday tornado outbreak will never be forgotten.
A pair of F4 tornadoes hit the southeastern part of Branch County. They were among 47 that struck six states and killed 261 persons including 18 in Branch County.
The National Weather Service says an intense tornado formed near Orland, Indiana and quickly crossed the border into Michigan.
It struck the village of East Gilead squarely, and then continued on to destroy homes along the shore of Coldwater Lake, filling the water with debris.
When it reached the opposite shore of the lake, a second tornado formed just five miles to the southwest near Kinderhook.
The two twisters took off together in the same direction along the same path, so that anybody hit by the first twister would get hit by the second one several minutes later.
By the time the first tornado passed south of Hillsdale, its friend was about thirty minutes behind it. The duo roared across the countryside producing F4 damage over a mile wide.
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