The first full day of summer got off to a beautiful start. Lots of sunshine, comfortable temperatures, and a relativiely decent level of humidity. That all started to change as we approached the noon hour when clouds began to overtake the sunshine, and it got really sticky.

This afternoon, National Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for the entire listening area until 9pm. It was right around 2:30 that an ugly storm front went through Flint bringing a brief, but heavy downpour with it. While warnings were issued to our west and south, the first round of storms went through with no major storm activity, just some lingering thunder and light rain.

However as the rain started to fall here in Flint, Portland was dealing what's being called a possible tornado. The Ionia County Sheriff is reported several buildings damaged, including a Goodwill location where people were trapped inside.

The watch remains in effect until tonight because the first round of storms brought enough moisture to spawn a second, more intense round of thunderstorms. Weather Channel has Detroit and Chicago at a Tor-Con value of 5, meaning a 50% chance of a tornado in our area. Be sure you and your family have your emergency action plan in place and ready to go in the event of tornadic activity. Another weather expert recommends parking your car in a garage if possible tonight.

UPDATE (6/23): Several tornadoes touched down across lower Michigan last night, causing damage to buildings and vehicles, uprooting trees and knocking out power. At one point, there were four active tornado warnings simultaneously in Mid-Michigan. There were a few minor injuries reported, but thankfully there were no fatalities.

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