The tornado map figures prominently in Ann Arbor officials planning as crews continue cutting and hauling trees after the April 15 tornado, and city leaders mapped an emergency operations area for debris removal and damage assessment along the storm’s path.
City officials announced debris removal crews will return Monday, April 20, to neighborhoods the city identified as hardest hit, and crews will drive block by block to clear public rights of way where activity has been heaviest.
The city advised residents outside the targeted response area to use A2 Fix It to report additional debris from city trees, and told residents with debris on private property to follow regular compost collection guidelines, haul material to the city compost facility at 4170 Platt Road, or hire a contractor for removal.
Ann Arbor is assessing storm damage for possible disaster assistance, and officials said crews will focus on streets identified by the National Weather Service as lying along the tornado’s path.
Regional Weather Threat And Watches
AccuWeather warned a widespread severe weather outbreak could unfold across parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes on Tuesday, and the company said a powerful spring storm will tap unusually warm, humid air and strong wind shear to create an environment favorable for large hail, destructive winds and tornadoes.
AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tyler Roys told Newsweek that people in the Chicago area need to stay alert because storms may first bring a hail and tornado threat around the evening commute, then transition into a broader damaging wind risk as the line pushes east.
The AccuWeather forecast map showed the highest-risk area concentrated in eastern Iowa, northern Illinois including Chicago, and southern Wisconsin, with a more widespread moderate risk extending from central Texas northeast through Michigan, and parts of the Northeast including New York.
AccuWeather also warned of damaging hail and isolated wind gusts up to 85 mph, and as of Tuesday around noon ET there were no tornado warnings issued by the National Weather Service across the impacted regions, although many NWS offices issued hazardous weather outlooks.
The NWS Chicago hazardous weather outlook said any thunderstorms that develop from mid evening through the overnight hours will be capable of damaging winds, hail, and embedded brief tornadoes, and noted multiple rounds of storms could produce flash flooding.
