What to know about the Fraser tornado and why it moved so fast - CBS Detroit
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Paula Wethington is a digital producer at CBS Detroit. She previously held digital content roles at NEWSnet, Gannett/USA Today network and The Monroe News in Michigan. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina.
/ CBS Detroit
Fraser residents continue cleanup efforts after tornado
Wednesday's tornado in Macomb County, Michigan, resulted in a tornado warning, but it was in a location not covered by an existing National Weather Service tornado watch.
The CBS Detroit NEXT Weather team has seen spin-up tornadoes in Michigan in the past, and said that's what happened Wednesday.
"Not uncommon, but unpleasant, and very, very fast," said CBS News Detroit chief meteorologist Ahmad Bajjey about spin-ups.
As the tornado threat moved into the Great Lakes region Wednesday, the National Weather Service placed some counties in Southwest Michigan under a tornado watch. The next watch announcement issued in Michigan was for severe thunderstorms.
But before the Metro Detroit area officially was placed in that severe thunderstorm watch, a tornado warning was issued for part of Macomb County at 1:12 p.m. While the National Weather Service said in its notice that the warning was "radar indicated," videos shared by witnesses helped confirm that indeed a tornado had formed.
It was Michigan's 29th tornado of the year.
This particular funnel wasn't associated with the main line of storms that was still yet to arrive in Southeast Michigan, Bajjey said.
"What happened is a warm front was lifting north and baking us," he said. "In an environment like yesterday, any individual cells that kick off can turn tornadic along a warm front very quickly. It was a risk, and ended up happening."
The National Weather Service in Detroit is working on surveys to determine how strong the tornado was and confirm its path.
In another example from Southeast Michigan, a spin-up tornado later rated at an EF-1 struck in Livonia on June 5, 2024. A 3-year-old boy was killed and his mother critically injured when a tree fell on their home from that storm.
As CBS Detroit meteorologist Karen Carter explained at the time, "This particular tornado was a spin-up tornado. It is difficult to forecast and to warn due to its sudden spin-up feature. Most tornadoes form within supercells, where one can see the development of a possible tornado and give better warning. This particular spin-up tornado was shown for only one swipe of the radar."
Paula Wethington is a digital producer at CBS Detroit. She previously held digital content roles at NEWSnet, Gannett/USA Today network and The Monroe News in Michigan. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina.
