By: Alyssa Ochss | C&G Newspapers | Published April 6, 2026
METRO DETROIT –– As severe weather rears its head throughout Michigan, there are important tools and tips Michiganders should keep in mind when protecting themselves and their families.
Brandon Lewis, Macomb County’s director of emergency management and communications, said people should be prepared for extended power outages. Things to keep ready include water, nonperishable canned foods, needed medications and prescriptions and more.
“Another one we really recommend for people is to have some way to get information, like news information, that doesn’t require electricity,” Lewis said.
He mentioned hand cranked radios as a useful tool.
Lewis receives the most calls during the severe weather season in the spring. He said they see the most active weather patterns when it transitions from the cold to warm weather.
Lindsay Schwan, an emergency management specialist for Oakland County Emergency Management, said the severe weather they see right now are typically tornadoes, flooding and severe thunderstorms. She recommends people to pay attention to forecasts.
“Sign up for weather alerts so that if weather does turn to be severe, you can get a notification on your phone,” Schwan said.
The Oakland County weather alert is called OakAlert and can be found on the county’s website at oakgov.com.
Schwan also said it is important to know where to go for shelter during severe weather.
“One of the best places is a basement,” Schwan said. “If you have a basement that’s great, but if you don’t, plan on going into the interior of your house somewhere.”
She recommends a closet, a bathroom or an area without windows. Keeping your phone charged is also important.
She said while they focus on the events between April and October, severe weather events can happen at any time.
Lewis said before anything happens, people should make sure they have enough insurance coverage for storm damage.
“What people don’t often know is that their insurance policy may not have enough coverage for wind damage and they may not have flood insurance at all,” Lewis said.
He also said to secure all loose objects in the yard and clear drains to help flood water drain off faster.
Both Lewis and Schwan said to have food and water for at least three days in case of a prolonged power outage. The recommendation is to have one gallon of water per person per day.
Severe weather can obviously hit when you are on the road or in an outdoor area. Schwan said during heavy downpours, motorists should just pull over.
“If it’s flooding, you shouldn’t drive through the water because you don’t know how deep it is,” Schwan said.
Lewis and Schwan both said not to go under an overpass during tornadoes. The force of the tornado will act as a wind tunnel and sucks everything out.
Lewis recommends finding an interior space to take shelter such as a store or another public place. Both Schwan and Lewis also recommend finding low lying areas such as ditches and covering your head in the event of a tornado or windstorm if there are no public spaces available.
If there is no Wi-Fi or weather forecast available, look for dark skies, increased wind speeds and funnel clouds. Lewis recommends getting in contact with family members who might know about severe weather that is headed their way.
If you are on the water, reach land as quickly as possible and find a sturdy structure for shelter.
Tornadoes have always formed in Michigan, but they have increased in frequency. Schwan said studies have shown the “Tornado Alley” has moved slightly. Tornado Alley is an area in the United States with a high frequency of tornadoes. She said there were 33 tornadoes last year in Michigan, while the state average is around 15.
“We kind of doubled that last year,” Schwan said.
Lewis said they’ve seen more tornadoes earlier in the season this year than they have in previous years.
“We had a couple of very strong tornadoes in the southwest corner of the state. That’s really unusual for this time of year,” Lewis said. “I think that draws attention to the fact that severe weather can really happen any time that the atmospheric conditions are favorable for it.”
The National Weather Service has used the Enhanced Fujita Scale to measure the severity of a tornado since February 2007.
“When tornado-related damage is surveyed, it is compared to a list of damage indicators (DIs) and degrees of damage (DoD) which help estimate better the range of wind speeds the tornado likely produced,” the NWS website states.
The least severe is an EF0 which produces 65 to 85 mph winds and the most severe is an EF5 which produces winds over 200 mph.
Lewis and Schwan both named the 2021 tornado that went through Armada as one of the worst weather events that happened during their careers. Schwan also named a 2023 tornado that ripped through the Interstate 96 corridor near Fowlerville as an extremely bad event.
“It just kind of took all of the trees and the week after it happened, I drove that corridor and it was just crazy to see the trees just like ripped up out of the ground and twisted and the power that a tornado can do,” Schwan said.
Lewis named severe flooding in 2014 as another significant event for all of Macomb County.
“The river crested at 20 feet, we got 6 inches of rain in a couple of hours,” Lewis said. “Agencies around the county ended up having to do a lot of water rescues and we ended up with a significant amount of flooding damage.”
As far as he can recall, Lewis said there has only been one known EF5 tornado in Michigan in the last 100 years.
Schwan said the National Weather Service is offering free Skywarn spotter training classes. These classes teach the indicators of severe weather. They last around an hour and a half.
The next classes are at 6 p.m. on April 16 at the Troy Police and Fire Training Center located at 4850 John R Road, and at 6 p.m. on April 30 at the Marsh Bank Park Lodge located at 2805 Hiller Road in West Bloomfield township. Everyone is allowed to attend.
Other classes are available in different counties. More details can be found on their website at weather.gov/dtx/spotter2.
The next class in Macomb County is at 10 a.m. on April 25 at the Macomb Intermediate School District located at 44001 Garfield Road in Clinton Township.
More information about weather safety can be found on the Macomb County and Oakland County websites at macombgov.org and oakgov.com.