Tornadoes overnight in Michigan

A tornado wall cloud was spotted in western Michigan yesterday, which was enough to trigger a tornado warning. WOOD-TV has the report.




The tornado kept moving.




The storm continued to the northeast and may have spawned a tornado near Midland. The Detroit Free Press reports.

The National Weather Service will determine today whether a tornado hit Midland County overnight, as storms move east for sunshine and warm temperatures in metro Detroit.

Trees and wires were knocked down and some buildings damaged in Coleman, Michigan, in Midland County overnight, meteorologist Dave Gurney said today from the agency's White Lake Township office.

"There’s a little damage up in Midland county, but not down around these parts," Gurney said. "We’re going to do a storm survey for one portion of the damage to see if it was straight-line wind or a little tornado."

No tornadoes here in Oakland County, but the storm did produce a strong thunderstorm with heavy rain about 10:30 PM. It was enough to interfere with reception of the satellite TV at my house. I can put up with the inconvenience so long as worse weather avoids me and nice weather awaits.

Today, expect warm sunshine with temperatures climbing to an unseasonably warm 60 to 65 degrees, Gurney said.

"It's above normally, certainly," Gurney said. "Normal high temperature for this time of year is 40, 45 during the day. So we’re running 15 to 20 degrees above normal."

The rest of the week will also be just as unseasonably warm. I'm enjoying it, but not everyone is.

The mild winter has affected not just the ski resorts and snowmobile dealerships, but also the tertiary businesses that depend on cold and snow to thrive. They include shoeshines, pizzerias, hot chocolate companies, and a whole slew of businesses that rely on a real winter for real dollars.

I have to say this has been the mildest winter since I moved here from California in 1989. May the summer not be as hot as the winter was mild.