COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Despite strong winds and a short period of heavy rain, the City of Coldwater did not suffer any severe damage after a series of Tornado Warnings were issued Tuesday afternoon and evening.
Tornado sirens went off in the City of Coldwater as a Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued by the National Weather Service at 5:47 p.m. The first of three Tornado Warnings was issued 10 minutes later. One was for the Sherwood and Athens area, one for the City of Coldwater, and the other for southern Branch County. A special warning was issued for the Union City area because of extremely large hail.
A barn and numerous trees were blown down on Girard Road near Babcock Road. Damage was also reported in the Sherwood area especially near Arney Road. There were reports of roads being blocked and power lines being down. There were unconfirmed reports that homes and buildings were either damaged or destroyed. A house was reportedly leveled on Dunks Road.
There was minimal damage in Coldwater, with Consumers Energy only reporting 660 total electric outages in the county.
Some of the most severe damage was in the City of Portage, with portions of buildings collapsed, power poles snapped off, and trees uprooted. The 321,000 square foot Fed Ex distribution center on Portage Road between Milham Avenue and Romence Road suffered damage to both the building and vehicles.
(viewer submitted photo to WOOD-TV 8)
The steeple of a church was torn off in Centerville, and almost all the village of Colon lost power.
Calhoun County and the city of Battle Creek were also placed under a Tornado Warning, which caused the Battle Creek City Commission to cancel their meeting.
Numerous tornadoes were reported on the ground near Decatur in Van Buren County, Sherwood in Branch County, and Tekonsha and Athens in Calhoun County.
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