How one Michigan family survived the Union Lake tornado

Carol Thompson, The Detroit News on Mar 8, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

UNION CITY, Mich. — Mackenzie Day and her family watched the tornado form over Union Lake, the area that bore the worst of the powerful storm system that swept through southwest Michigan on Friday.

The area of northwest Branch County was under a tornado watch, not a warning, so Day’s mother said they didn’t have to seek immediate shelter in the basement. Day and her father went outside their home to see the storm; her mom joined with the dog.

“We look and we can see it forming past our house,” Day said. “We can see it twisting and the clouds start twisting and going different directions.”

The family rushed inside to Day’s room, a windowless room in the basement, the safest in their home.

It was clear something was wrong, Day said. Her ears felt weird, like a bubble was forming. She had never felt anything like it. That's when she knew the tornado would hit.

So did her parents. Day’s mother lay on Day, 18, and her 16-year-old brother, Tyler Adamson. The power cut out. Her father wrestled the mattress off her bed and laid it on top of them.

“Then we just heard it go by,” Day told The Detroit News. “It didn’t sound like a train. It didn’t sound like a whistle. It just sounded like loud wind, thunder, destruction.”

The tornado was one of three that touched down in southwest Michigan on Friday, meteorologists have confirmed. They are investigating a possible fourth. Four people were killed in the twisters, and there were numerous injuries, including 12 reported in Branch County.

The tornado that swept through Union Lake and Union City was the strongest, with winds reaching 150 miles per hour.

The tornado destroyed Day's home, she said from the gymnasium of Union City High School.

When they emerged from the basement, the family found the entire roof of their house was gone, she said. Things were everywhere — fallen ceiling tiles and beams, living room furniture cast about.

Adamson, Day's brother, didn’t realize what he had survived until he saw the wreckage.

“I knew it was happening,” he said. “I knew that I was in danger, but I didn’t think there was any possible chance I could die. I was not in reality. Then, after it happened and I saw our roof was completely gone, the only thing I can describe, the emotion, the word that I can use, is despair.”

The family is staying in a hotel in Coldwater. Day said she still hasn’t digested what they lived through, the fact that their home is unlivable, and their neighbors’ homes were turned into debris.

Three of the family’s neighbors died, Day said. They were friends of the family. They were good people who didn’t deserve to die in a disaster, she said.

Day and Adamson spoke to reporters from the gymnasium at Union High School, where volunteers collected to unload and organize donations, serve hot meals and coordinate cleanup efforts.

Day said that’s why she and her brother were there, too. They may pick up a few items they need, but mostly, they wanted to see what else they could do.

“We wanted to come check up on other people,” she said. “We weren’t the only ones who unfortunately went through this tragic event.”

_____