While mostly everyone chased the main center of the high risk area generated by the Storm Prediction Center across E IL and W IN, I stayed further north along the MI/IN border. There were numerous reasons for this:
– I had to work 12 hours Monday and had to be home somewhat early.
– Many models were trending towards more isolated development across Michigan.
– I wanted to leave plenty of options open for traveling (though this would be washed out)
– I wasn’t sure if I had the funds to get through the rest of the week if I went to IL and back.
I targeted to start around Marshall, MI; waiting to see if the isolated stuff ahead of the line could get organized, and leaving myself plenty of road options (I-69 S, I-94 and 80/90 west, 69/127 N) I sat a little too long in my opinion, it kind of worked out though. Anyways, I was watching the track of the Washington, IL EF4 tornado producing storm, and trying to figure out whether it would get that far north, as several models were saying…I eventually got baited on it, and began to travel west to 131, then south to US-12 and bounced along and across the MI/IN repeatedly. At this point, I was committed to being in that area with no good southerly options, so I watched the tornadic storm mostly die out and head over the water briefly, before coming ashore and begin to re-strengthen in Berrien Co.
The film below is what I shot along US-31…The damage pictures below are various shots from just east of where the video was recorded.
This rotation went on, and produced an EF1 tornado to the east one county over in Cass County. With all the clouds that were ahead of the main line here in Michigan in the morning, it substantially weakened our threat for tornadoes, and unfortunately also the great structure shots I love to get, but below are a few simple shots from this excursion. I truly feel I should of went further south, and I will question why I didn’t….but also know I had alot of other stuff running through my mind….that’s life.
Inflow damage between Niles/Cassopolis/Berrien Springs
Mammmatus behind the line of storms, somewhere between Berrien Springs and Kalamazoo, MI
Tree damage NE of Niles, MI
Sunset on I-69 behind the storms near Olivet, MI
CJ Postal 