By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
STURGIS — The National Weather Service last week confirmed that an EF-0 tornado touched down near Sturgis during the severe storms that occurred on Sunday, March 30.
The tornado, according to NWS data, had estimated peak winds of 80 miles per hour, had a maximum width of 300 yards, and was on the ground for 3.6 miles and three minutes total. It reportedly started near Shimmel Road and Olnhausen Road just north of the Indiana border, moving northeast until dissipating in a field off of Balk Road north of U.S. 12.
Some of the damage that occurred in the path of the tornado included a dozen pine trees snapped or uprooted at the genesis of the storm at Shimmel and Olnhausen, removing a portion of a pole barn roof and an empty grain bin west of the Fawn River Road/Stubey Road intersection, with the grain bin being thrown into power lines along Fawn River Road. Spans of a center pivot were rolled in that area as well.
As the tornado went across open fields, trees were blown down onto power lines west of Balk Road and U.S. 12, with a piece of metal from a barn roof wrapped around a pole several feet off the ground. Another center pivot was damaged northeast of the intersection, just before the tornado dissipated.
Confirmation of the Sturgis tornado brings the total number of confirmed tornadoes in the area from the March 30 storm to six, and the third confirmed to have touched down in Michigan. Edwardsburg and Cassopolis also had confirmed EF-1 tornadoes. Only one injury was reported by the NWS of Northern Indiana from any of the tornadoes, with no injuries reported with any of the Michigan-based tornadoes.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
