Four tornadoes were reported across Southwest Michigan in the March 6 supercell storm. The tornadoes struck in the late afternoon, leaving a path of destruction across parts of Cass, St. Joseph, Calhoun and Branch counties. Four people were killed and more than a dozen were injured.
On Sunday, MLive captured drone aerials to survey the damage as cleanup crews, linemen and property owners worked to rebuild after the storm.
From the aerials in Three Rivers, MLive estimated hundreds of structures were damaged in of a roughly 2-mile span from Menards moving northwest toward Three Rivers High School.
The National Weather Service has preliminarily said the Three Rivers tornado was rated an EF-2, with wind speeds at 130 mph.
Aerials showed multiple wall collapses to the Menards and severe damage to the main entrance of the hardware store. Dozens of storage units were also ripped from their foundations at the Menards self-storage facility next door.
Cleanup crews were seen sorting piles of debris and moving damaged vehicles from the lot.
Multiple businesses, hotels, banks and medical offices could be seen damaged. The tornado ripped the roof of a building at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church before hitting a neighborhood.
The tornado knocked down dozens of trees in Scidmore Park and ripped the roof of Huddlestun Lumber Co., blocks from the historic downtown. The tornado then crossed over the St. Joseph River toward Three Rivers High School.
MLive also briefly droned at Union Lake, showing Prairie Rose Lane and Tuttle Park Drive in the distance, along the north side the lake, where emergency management was still on scene.
The Union City tornado was the strongest of the March 6 tornadoes, killing three people and injuring a dozen. The NWS gave a preliminary rating of EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. EF-0 is the weakest and EF-5 is the strongest. Initial wind speeds were assessed at 160 mph.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer surveyed the damage from a Michigan State Police helicopter Sunday. She declared a state of emergency in Branch, Cass, and St. Joseph counties.
“Thinking of the families who lost loved ones and the Michiganders who were hurt in the devastation that we just saw,” Whitmer said.
The first tornado touched down around 3:20 p.m. in Cass County, police said. Multiple buildings in the area were damaged and 12-year-old Silas Anderson was killed on Conrad Road east of Niles in Milton Township. A damage assessment was being conducted in Edwardsburg on Sunday, March 8, according to NWS.
The Calhoun County tornado was rated an EF-0 with wind speeds of 85 mph, according to NWS.
In the past 26 years, three EF-3 tornadoes have touched down in Michigan.
The 1980 tornado, which killed five people and injured 79, was rated an F3 on the Fujita scale, a previously used tool for assessing a tornado’s strength. A 2022 EF-3 tornado that struck Gaylord killed two people and injured 44.
For a searchable database of Michigan’s tornadoes from 1950 through 2025, click here.
©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
