Elmwood Twp. Gagetown Fire Department

06/14/2026

06/12/2026

Tornado Watch for Allegan, Barry, Bay, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Clinton, Eaton, Genesee, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Kent, Livingston, Mecosta, Midland, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Ottawa, Saginaw, St. Joseph, Shiawassee and Van Buren County in MI until 2:00am EDT.

Hazards
A couple strong tornadoes possible
Isolated hail up to ping pong ball sized
Widespread wind gusts up to 75 mph likely

06/11/2026

Michigan Storm Chasers Internal Discussion 2026-6 has been issued for portions of southern and central Lower Michigan through 1 am EDT, denoted by the area in pink. As a reminder for our new members here, an internal discussion is created for areas where we expect at least a few severe thunderstorms within the coming hours. Discussion issued at 7:12 pm EDT 6/11/26.

Layman Terms Discussion
Multiple supercells producing tornadoes are ongoing in central Illinois, pushing closer to the Chicagoland region. These cells will continue to the northeast in a favorable environment with plenty of fuel and shear (wind) to work with. The lone cells have the best chances for large hail and stronger tornadoes, and southwestern Michigan will need to be mindful of them. Speaking of wind, recent trends show an uptick in straight line winds north of Rockford, IL. Current trajectory brings these winds east and northeast into the US-31 corridor from Manistee south to I-94 around 9 pm EDT. Storms will track across the state, producing 60-75 mph winds, with occasional gusts to 80 mph. Within the line of straight lined winds, embedded tornadoes are also possible given heightened spin in the atmosphere. We presume a downstream watch is incoming for the Lower Peninsula. With time, this line of damaging winds will weaken as it heads over towards I-75. We will be live around 8 pm EDT for our balloon launches, and wall-to-wall severe weather coverage.

Technical Discussion
"Recent uptick in velocity near Rockford, IL and general organization of the line, plus recent LLJ guidance suggests an uptick in wind potential moving northeast onto Lake Michigan shortly. A potentially significant wind threat may develop from US-10 south as this line moves into west Michigan. Additional lead supercells remain possible with tornadoes (some strong) as SRH values in the lowest 3 km surpass 600 m2/s2. Large hail cannot be ruled out. Storms move in by 9 pm EDT."

- Chief Meteorologist Joel Fritsma

06/11/2026

Here is our official timing map for tonight's squall line, set to impact the Lower Peninsula, June 11th, 2026, capable of damaging winds, and isolated instances of hail and embedded tornadoes.

We continue to monitor the area off to our southwest as a squall line continues to develop in Iowa and Illinois, moving northeast. Our margin of error on the squall line timing is 90 minutes, but we are going with before 9:30 pm EDT for our western-most counties, then 9-10 pm into the Grand Rapids, Cadillac, and Kalamazoo corridor. 10-11 pm EDT for Coldwater, to Lansing, to Grayling, and Cheboygan, 11 pm to 12 am EDT over to Jackson, Saginaw, and Alpena, then after midnight (if it can stay together) for the thumb and southeastern Michigan.

A friendly reminder to memorize where you are on a map prior to tonight's severe weather coverage. We cannot answer hundreds of questions about specific locations while tracking storms live.

Additional pop-up storms are possible ahead of the main line, and a wake low may be possible for southwestern Michigan prior to 9 pm EDT. We are monitoring closely, but our main concern remains the stuff back further to the west. As always, tune into our live severe weather coverage as soon as the first warning is issued tonight. You can find our coverage on YouTube, Facebook, Twitch TV, X, and TikTok at "mistormchasers".

- Chief Meteorologist Joel Fritsma, 4:28 pm EDT, 6/11/26

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06/11/2026

🚒 Elmwood Township Fire & Rescue Weather Update 🚑

Good news! The severe weather threat for this evening has diminished, and we should be all clear for the remainder of the night. We appreciate everyone who stayed weather aware and monitored conditions throughout the evening.

⚠️ However, our attention now turns to Thursday, which has the potential to bring another round of strong to severe thunderstorms. Forecast models continue to indicate the possibility of:

🌩️ Damaging winds
🌩️ Large hail
🌩️ Heavy rainfall
🌩️ Frequent lightning
🌩️ Potentially significant severe weather

Now is a great time to make sure you have multiple ways to receive weather alerts and review your severe weather safety plans.

We will continue to monitor conditions closely and provide updates as more information becomes available.

Stay safe and enjoy the rest of your evening!

Chief Trace Lopez
Elmwood Township Fire & Rescue 🚒🚑