Union City tornado becomes the earliest EF-3 on record for MichiganThe deadly tornado that struck Union City, Michigan, on March 6, 2026, was rated EF-3 after damage surveys by the National Weather Service (NWS). It is the earliest EF-3 recorded in Michigan and the strongest to strike the state in 49 years, with estimated peak winds exceeding 247 km/h (160 mph). Meanwhile, the tornado in Edwardsburg was rated EF-1, and an EF-2 rating was given to the Three Rivers tornadoes.
The National Weather Service surveyed the tornado damage in the townships of Union City, Edwardsburg, and Three Rivers on March 8 and classified the deadly Union City tornado as an EF-3.
While the rating is preliminary, the Union City tornado is the earliest occurrence of an EF-3 tornado for Michigan on record.
The previous earliest EF-3 for any calendar year was an EF-3 that struck north of Ann Arbor on March 15, 2012. Meanwhile, the last EF-3 to strike Michigan was the Gaylord EF-3 tornado on May 20, 2022.
With estimated peak winds of over 247 km/h (160 mph), it was also the strongest tornado to have struck Michigan since the F-4 tornado that struck Kalamazoo and Eaton County on April 2, 1977.