Confirmed tornado touches down in suburban Detroit

The National Weather Service has confirmed that a brief, weak tornado struck Oakland County Sunday evening.

The tornado is classified as an EF-0 tornado with estimated peak wind speeds of around 70 mph. According to the National Weather Service in White Lake, Michigan, the tornado was 150 feet wide at its widest point. The tornado existed over a path length of approximately one mile.

The tornado lasted two minutes from 6:56 p.m. to 6:58 p.m. as it tracked through the west side of Holly, MI. Holly is located in the far northern part of Oakland County.

The National Weather Service says: “The tornado began in a forested marshland southwest of Holly and continued northeast into the village of Holly. The tornado dissipated just east of downtown near the intersection of Martha St and Washington St. Isolated, the small tree was concentrated on portions of Tenny Street, Locke Street, Legrande Street, Sherman Street, Saginaw Street, Church Street, Martha Street, and Washington, causing major limb damage, loss of roofing material on several facilities, construction site damage, and minor damage Siding and Facade Losses Observed Street.”

The tornado was generated by a strong upper air system that interacted with a thin line of thunderstorms. Other severe weather reports included slightly strong wind gusts of around 80 km/h.