The National Weather Service is confirming what witnesses already know: a tornado ripped through Van Buren County Saturday afternoon. The NWS says damage indicates the tornado was an EF-1, but no official determination of the twister’s strength has been announced. It was one of several tornados to hit West Michigan during storms along a path from Bangor to Grand Rapids.
The tornado in Van Buren County caused damage in Bangor and Grand Junction and had estimated winds between 90 and 110 miles an hour. It bent light poles at 90-degree angles in Bangor and ripped through a blueberry farm. The tornado also damaged Bangor City Hall and uprooted several trees. Investigators from the National Weather Service are continuing to finalize their damage estimates.
