GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Severe storms swept through West Michigan Sunday, bringing rain, lightning, hail, strong winds that brought down trees and a possible tornado touchdown in rural eastern Newaygo County.
Three people were killed and three more injured when a tree hit a car in the Climax area during the storms, Kalamazoo County deputies said.
Around 6:10 p.m., while a tornado warning was in effect for the area, Storm Team 8 saw radar indications of a possible tornado east of Newaygo and Grant, near Tift Corner in Croton Township. It seemed to remain on the ground for about 10 minutes.
There were reports of damage near the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Cascade Township around 6 p.m., during the time when a tornado warning was in effect for Kent County. Storm Team 8 says there was a flash of debris on radar there that may have also been a brief spin-up tornado, though that was less certain than what appeared on radar in Newaygo County.
The National Weather Service is expected to send crews out Monday to review the storm damage and made a determination about whether it was caused by tornadoes and, if so, exactly where they touched down.
Tornadoes or not, the storms packed strong winds, including gusts above 80 mph in metro Grand Rapids and around 60 mph in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek.
After the storm moved through West Michigan, reports of damage started coming in. With trees and power lines brought down, the online power outage maps for Consumers Energy and Indiana Michigan Power showed tens of thousands of customers around the region without service.
A tree fell on a house in Jamestown Township on March 30, 2025.
A storm-damaged barn in Gaines Township in March 34, 2025. (Courtesy Timothy Zandbergen)
A storm-damaged barn in Gaines Township in March 34, 2025. (Courtesy Timothy Zandbergen)
A large tree was uprooted near Carson City after severe weather swept through West Michigan on Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Courtesy Gary Nielsen)
Pieces of what appear to be roofing were ripped from a Kent City home after severe weather swept through West Michigan on Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Courtesy Jenna Medendorp)
A large tree was pulled down in Freeport after severe weather swept through West Michigan on Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Courtesy John VanDyke)
An uprooted pine tree in the Otsego area after a storm on March 30, 2025. (Courtesy Dawn Berner)
A tree on a car in Portage following a storm on March 30, 2025. (Courtesy David Morri)
A tree down on top of a pickup truck in the Rockford area on March 30, 2025. (Courtesy Terri)
Gray clouds roll over Caledonia on Sunday, March 30, 2025, as severe weather swept through West Michigan. (Courtesy AJ Monusko)
A fallen tree damaged a patio in Ada when severe weather swept through West Michigan on Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Courtesy Bonny)
A large tree was uprooted in Constantine on Sunday, March 30, 2025, after severe weather swept through West Michigan. (Courtesy Miranda)
A trampoline in Constantine was destroyed on Sunday, March 30, 2025, after severe weather swept through West Michigan. (Courtesy Miranda)
A large tree was uprooted on Grand Rapids’ southeast side on Sunday, March 30, 2025, after severe weather swept through West Michigan. (Courtesy Stephen Kimball)
A large tree was uprooted in Otsego on Sunday, March 30, 2025, after severe weather swept through West Michigan. (Courtesy Dawn Berner)
A large tree lays across 13 Mile between M-37 and Peach Ridge Avenue in Sparta Township after severe weather swept through West Michigan. (Courtesy Ally Collins)
An uprooted tree in the area of Diamond Springs Golf Course in Hamilton on March 30, 2025. (Courtesy Jennifer Yoder)
A flipped greenhouse in Nashville following a storm on March 30, 2025. (Courtesy)
A tree down in the Hudsonville area following a storm on March 30, 2025. (Courtesy Andrew)
A blown over play structure in a Blendon Township yard after a storm on March 30, 2025. (Courtesy)
Trees down on 11 Mile near Rockford during a storm on March 30, 2025. (Courtesy)
In Muskegon County’s Fruitport Township, part of the roof was sheared off Beach Elementary.
“(The wind) peeled the outer membrane of the roof on our gym … off (and) created some pooling of water underneath that membrane that then began to leak into the gym. There’s a significant amount of water damage to the gym floor,” Fruitport Community Schools Superintendent Jason Kennedy told News 8 Sunday evening, standing at the doors to the gym.
He added a couple of classrooms sustained damage, as did the playground.
Kennedy said there was a staff member in the building when the storm moved through, so leaders learned of the damage very quickly and started calling in cleanup and repair crews.
Storm damage at Beach Elementary in Fruitport Township on March 30, 2025. (Courtesy Fruitport Community Schools)
Storm damage at Beach Elementary in Fruitport Township on March 30, 2025. (Courtesy Fruitport Community Schools)
Storm damage at Beach Elementary in Fruitport Township on March 30, 2025. (Courtesy Fruitport Community Schools)
Crews work to clean up water in the Fruitport Township Beach Elementary gym after a storm sheared away part of the roof on March 30, 2025.
Storm damage on the playground of Beach Elementary on March 30, 2025.
Storm damage on the playground of Beach Elementary on March 30, 2025.
Storm damage on the playground of Beach Elementary on March 30, 2025.
Storm damage on the playground of Beach Elementary on March 30, 2025.
Classes are canceled Monday for Beach students; students in other buildings will still have school. Kennedy said it’s likely the Beach Elementary closure could have to extend past Monday depending on what contractors find out about the damage.
The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office reported more than 130 reports of downed trees, power lines and other damage.
In Plainwell, the city reported that one of the buildings at the old Michigan Paper Company Mill sustained structural damage. That building was vacant and no one was hurt. The city warned people to stay away from the unstable building.
A damaged building at the old Mill complex in Plainwell after storms on March 30, 2025. (Courtesy city of Plainwell)
In Oshtemo Township, the canopy over the pumps at a Marathon gas station on W. Main Street near US-131 tipped over.
The Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office said a gas leak and roof collapse led to the closure of Main Street in Tekonsha.
Farther south, as many as 1,300 Sturgis Electric Department customers were without power Sunday evening, the city said. At Memory Lane Mobile Home Park along US-12, many of the mobile homes lost part of their skirting and some sustained tree damage to the roofs. Michigan Gas crews were on scene throughout the park.
Not far from the mobile home park, Sturgis resident Anita Ritter said the sound of the whipping wind and roaring wind reminded her of the 2024 Portage tornado.
“When the tornado hit in Portage, I was in my car in a parking lot and I was in the tornado, and so it was something really scary. And as soon as we got this severe alert, the tornado warning alert, I was going to the basement because I’m not going to (say), ‘Poo-poo, it’s just a tornado warning. We get those all the time in Michigan.’ I don’t have that attitude anymore,” Ritter said.
Consumers Energy reminded people to always stay at least 25 feet from downed power lines and assume they are energized, even if they appear to be dead. Call 911 and Consumers.
After the cold front passed by, much cooler air will settle in for Monday. High temperatures will only reach the lower 40s and some morning rain and snow showers are likely.
—News 8’s Adriana Doria, Sara Flynn, Josh Sanchez and Blake Harms contributed to this report.
