Union City Michigan Tornado Update — Sunday, March 8: 8 Dead Across Heartland, Tornado Watch Expands East
The death toll from the Union City Michigan tornado and the broader 2026 severe weather outbreak has risen to at least 8 across two states. New overnight details identify one of the Michigan victims as 12-year-old Silas Anderson. A tornado watch is now spreading into Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New York as the system charges east.
12-Year-Old Silas Anderson Identified as Michigan Tornado Victim
The Cass County Sheriff's Office has identified the 12-year-old boy killed during Friday's severe weather as Silas Anderson. Authorities say he was reported missing as severe storms slammed the area and was later found injured. He was taken to a hospital where he later died.
Three fatalities were confirmed in the Union Lake area of Branch County alone, and a fourth death was reported in neighboring Cass County, where homes and agricultural buildings were reduced to debris. A fifth victim, the young boy, brought Michigan's toll to five.
NWS Confirms Full Tornado Track: Edwardsburg to Union City
On the afternoon of March 6, 2026, a lone supercell developed in La Porte County, Indiana, and tracked northeast into Lower Michigan, moving through Cass, St. Joseph, and Branch counties. Storm chasers, trained spotters, broadcast media, and the public all confirmed tornado damage in Edwardsburg, Three Rivers, and Union City. The north side of Union Lake in Union City was one of the hardest hit areas, with numerous homes taking on significant damage and trees sheared off.
The tornado was confirmed near Union City at 4:38 p.m. ET by storm chaser video. Twelve injuries were confirmed in Union City, with several others reported in the Edwardsburg area.
Three Rivers Michigan Tornado Damage: Menards, Waste Facility, Neighborhoods
Video confirmed a tornado hitting the Menards store in Three Rivers and lifting at least a portion of the roof off the main building at 3:46 p.m. ET. A tornado was also confirmed at the Three Rivers Waste Management facility. Emergency Management confirmed multiple tornado touchdowns prior to the damage, with reports of significant destruction on the southwest side of Three Rivers.
Photos from Three Rivers neighborhoods show a trampoline left tangled in power lines and uprooted trees scattered across residential streets. A Union City church was left in shambles. News Channel 3 crews observed drones, K-9 units, and what appeared to be a body bag in a field near Tuttle Road.
Total Heartland Death Toll Reaches 8
At least 8 people have been killed in two states since Thursday. In Oklahoma, a mother and daughter were killed in Major County on Thursday night, and two more people died in the town of Beggs on Friday when a tornado struck their home. Combined with Michigan's five victims, this stands as the deadliest early-March severe weather outbreak in modern U.S. records.
On Friday, tornadoes swept through Michigan and Oklahoma, claiming six lives and raising the death toll from the storm outbreak to eight. The ravaging storms — including powerful winds sometimes exceeding 80 mph, damaging hail, and intense tornadoes — leveled homes, tore apart communities, and left neighborhoods in ruins across parts of the Midwest and Plains.
Tornado Watch NOW Expanding East — Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York
Parts of New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia are under a Tornado Watch through 8:00 p.m. ET Sunday night. A few tornadoes are possible, with isolated ping pong-sized hail and wind gusts up to 70 mph likely. The watch broadly covers parts of western Pennsylvania, most of northern West Virginia, eastern Ohio, and portions of western New York near Lake Erie.
Where Is Union City Michigan?
Union City, MI sits in Branch County in southwestern Michigan, approximately 25 miles northeast of Three Rivers and 65 miles east of Kalamazoo. The town of roughly 1,500 residents sits along Union Lake — the north shore of which took the direct hit from the EF-3 tornado on March 6. Tuttle Road along the lakefront is the most devastated corridor identified by emergency responders and news crews.
Recovery Resources in Union City
Union City High School remains open as a community resource center offering food, equipment, bathroom facilities, dumpsters, and volunteer labor assistance. Residents with information should call the Branch County Sheriff at the non-emergency line. Anyone in the path of the new tornado watch tonight should shelter immediately in the lowest interior room of a sturdy structure away from windows.
