MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Severe weather patterns are no stranger to the Upper Peninsula, especially with the record-breaking weather shifts this year. Snow, rain, and even 70-degree temps are all types of weather you might see in the Upper Peninsula, and sometimes in the same month.
Tornados, however, are an anomaly to the UP that Meteorologists report only once per year. “It’s not unheard of they had tornadoes down in lower Michigan during the last week of February this year so I’m not saying now we have to be ready for tornadoes in February and March up here but the reality is once we transition to summer we still see extreme weather with regards to what comes within the summertime,” commented National Weather Service Meteorologist Matt Zika.
Although we do have a wide array of weather in the UP, the systems that come through this climate rarely support a tornado.
“Fortunately for us when those tornadoes happen in the UP they’re on the weak side of the scale so they’re not like the monster tornados that we see out in the planes,” continued Zika. The ingredients of humidity and a cold front moving in do create severe weather patterns, but usually in the form of blizzards, heavy thunderstorms, and flood damage.
“For us here in the UP it’s the other severe weather threats that we have a higher probability of seeing the straight-line winds with thunderstorms that can do damage over a much broader area,” said Zika.
Zika mentions that the statewide tornado drill taking place tomorrow at 1 PM is mainly for those who are in the lower peninsula, where Tornados have a higher chance of touching down. “It’s not going to be a live tornado warning being issued telling people this is going to happen if you live downstate where they have outdoor warning sirens those will all activate but we don’t have outdoor warning sirens across the UP,” continued Zika.
