Are you in a radar gap? Here's what that means for weather warnings

Interlochen Public Radio | By Austin Rowlader,

Ed Ronco

Published August 6, 2025 at 5:06 AM EDT

This screenshot from a video taken by Doug Confer of the Deckerville Fire Department shows a tornado touching down in Deckerville on Saturday. Blindspots in the state’s weather radar network meant meteorologists couldn’t warn residents before the twister struck. (Courtesy of Doug Confer) — This screenshot from a video taken by Doug Confer of the Deckerville Fire Department shows a tornado touching down in Deckerville on Saturday. Blindspots in the state’s weather radar network meant meteorologists couldn’t warn residents before the twister struck. *(Courtesy of Doug Confer)*

The farther away you are from a doppler radar station, the harder it is for the radar to see low-altitude weather. What does that mean here in northern Michigan?

This reporting is made possible by the Northern Michigan Journalism Project, led by Bridge Michigan and Interlochen Public Radio, and funded by Press Forward Northern Michigan.

An EF1 tornado touched down in Deckerville last Saturday without warning from local officials or the National Weather Service.

Deckerville is in the eastern part of Michigan's thumb region. No one was injured in the tornado. But the incident did highlight the reason the tornado wasn’t detected by local meteorologists.

Deckerville sits in a radar gap — an area even sophisticated NEXRAD Doppler radar systems just can’t see. So does Interlochen, sort of. Doppler radar has trouble seeing things below 4,000 feet here.

Reporter Austin Rowlader looked into this for Bridge Michigan, and told us all about what he found. Listen to our conversation and read his full report in Bridge Michigan.