The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch Thursday night for six counties in southeast Michigan, keeping the alert in place until 2 a.m. Friday as storms moved through the region. The watch covered Bay, Genesee, Livingston, Midland, Saginaw and Shiawassee counties.
The alert included Bay City, Brighton, Durand, Flint, Fowlerville, Howell, Midland, Owosso and Saginaw. Forecasters said conditions were favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area, but they also said no tornado had been spotted.
Thursday, June 11, brought the threat of severe weather to Metro Detroit as the system pushed across southeast Michigan. A tornado watch is not the same as a warning, but it does mean residents should stay alert, monitor weather updates and be ready to move to shelter if warnings are issued.
For now, the key question is whether the storms will stay at the watch stage or force a warning before the alert expires early Friday. Until then, the six-county watch area remains the part of the map most likely to change first.
