Multiple Michigan tornadoes tore through the state and my home was directly in its path. At the time, I was sitting at my workstation watching the clock strike noon after finishing up a few time-sensitive projects before heading out for lunch.
I grabbed my lunch box and snaked through the tan fabric cubicles that filled the office before stepping outside into what looked like a perfect seventy-eight degree spring day with not a cloud in the sky. I never suspected a tornado could be coming on such a beautiful afternoon.
Little did I know that just miles to the north, a massive mile-wide tornado was forming and heading straight toward my town. Clearly, the Michigan tornado of March 6th, 2026 would change everything for those in its path.
The First Warning
After finishing the leftover pizza I had packed from the night before, I sat in my car for a few minutes scrolling through social media before heading back inside to work. Usually when severe weather is developing nearby, the weather influencers I follow or one of the apps on my phone starts lighting up with alerts.
That afternoon was different. My phone was quiet. There were no posts about storms, no radar screenshots being shared, and there were no warning notifications. If there was anything brewing out there, nobody seemed to be talking about it. Later I would learn that the storm developing to the north had only a small two percent chance of producing a violent tornado.
I glanced over at the clock on my car’s infotainment screen and read one o’clock. I rolled my eyes sarcastically and mentally prepared myself for rest of my day. I was honestly over the change requests I was processing on read-only Friday!
Fast forward to around three-thirty in the afternoon, I heard my phone buzz and saw it was a message from @mandolinsara. My stomach dropped. It was a screenshot of a tornado warning for my area. I swiveled around in my chair and pulled up the local news. By the time the National Weather Service issued a warning, a mile wide EF3 rated tornado had hit the town I live in and tornado sirens were never sounded.
I needed to get home. Now.
The Aftermath
My mind started to buzz with questions and intrusive thoughts. Was my neighborhood still standing? Is my cat safe? Is my website still up? I quickly grabbed my phone, opened Safari and tapped on the bookmark for this website and received a Cloudflare host error. Damn it! Something bad must of happened.
Quickly, I let my coworkers and the Director of IT know what was going on and showed them preliminary pictures of the damage. I rushed outside to my car and peeled out of the parking lot headed home.
After what seemed like an eternity, I finally made it to the outskirts of town and hit a traffic jam. Cell service was down. Trees, branches, power lines and debris from homes and businesses littered the streets. It took me around forty-five minutes frustratingly navigating back roads and asking passersby and cops for news, directions and information to get to my side of town.
I drove around for a couple of hours before coming to the conclusion there was no way I could make it home that night or at least check on my home. Exhausted, I found a place to park on the side of the road and used SOS mode to let Sara and my family members know I was safe. The area was expected to get hit with another round of storms and the sun was quickly setting, so I decided to make my way to a family member’s home and stay the night with them.
The Day After
The next morning I woke up early, determined to get to my home at all costs so I could crate my cat to bring him with me, grab some clean clothes, and head back to my family member’s house until electricity was restored and the streets were accessible. On the way there, I noticed the main road into town was mostly clear, with a few obstacles blocking the way, but nothing I couldn’t handle.
I made my way toward my neighborhood and once again quickly realized there was no safe path home. After looking at a map, I realized there was a dead-end road that overlooked my development. If I hopped the curb and drove about 150 feet across the grass, I could hop another curb onto my street and make it there. Sure enough, the dead-end road was clear, and there were fresh tire tracks from people who had clearly done the same thing. I drove down the bumpy hill and turned onto my street to find that my home had only sustained minor damage to the shingles, flashing, and siding.
Relieved, I opened the door and was greeted by a very hungry cat. I quickly got him situated and began gathering the essential supplies I would need for the weekend. Since the power was still out, I checked the fridge and found that all of the food had defrosted. I ended up throwing out about $170 worth of groceries that I had bought earlier in the week. Bug-out bag and screaming cat in tow, I made my way back to my family members house for a nice dinner.
By Monday, most of my area had electricity restored and storm damage cleanup was underway. It felt great to be home again and turn the homelab back on from a complete shutdown.
Conclusion
Frankly, this could have been so much worse for me. I have neighbors a street over missing their entire roof, pulling belongings from collapsed structures and filing claims for crushed cars. Four people are dead. My area is expected to have severe storms tomorrow, March 15, 2026 and I can only hope for the best. I have to admit there’s a bit of anxiety now that I’ve witnessed that life can change in five minutes and there’s nothing you can really do about it. I wish everyone the best during recovery efforts.