Southeast Michigan Tornado is Earliest So Far North

The National Weather Service reports that an EF-1 tornado on Sunday, March 12, was the earliest so far north in southeastern Michigan since records began in 1950. The tornado southeast of Coleman in Midland County was only the 10th tornado to occur before April 1 in the 17 counties covered by the NWS Detroit office. It was the first to occur north of highway I-69 and is tied with the March 12, 1976 Lenawee County tornado as the earliest in the region. The tornado had a track length of 5.1 miles and a maximum width of 125 yards. The storm report:

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0643 PM     TORNADO          3 SSE COLEMAN           43.71N 84.57W
03/12/2012  EF1              MIDLAND            MI   EMERGENCY MNGR

            EF1 TORNADO WITH WINDS ESTIMATED TO 90 MPH STARTED NEAR
            WEINERT AND LEWIS ROADS WHERE A GARAGE WAS DESTOYED. THE
            TORNADO MOVED NORTHEST DAMAGING 3 MORE POLE BARNS AND
            UPROOTING TREES...ESPECIALLY AROUND ALAMANDO AND MANDO
            ROADS AND NEAR THE END OF THE TORNADO PATH AT M-18 AND
            SHAFFER ROAD. THE TORNADO PATH WAS 5.1 MILES WITH A
            MAXIMUM WIDTH OF 125 YARDS. THE TORNADO ENDED AT 648 PM
            EDT.  

Image (click to enlarge): Tornado damage near Coleman, Michigan, on March 12, 2012, from NWS