A cold front banging into very warm air could produce a few severe thunderstorms this weekend in Michigan. Right now the most likely area for severe thunderstorms would be northern Michigan.

Saturday will warm into the 70s across all of Lower Michigan, and the humidity will increase. The fuel for a fire of thunderstorms will be present. A cold front will move south across the Upper Peninsula into northern Lower Michigan late Saturday afternoon or evening. As the cold front and cooler air undercuts the warm moist air, thunderstorms will develop across the eastern U.P. and drop south into northern Lower Michigan.

Here’s the radar forecast showing the eastern U.P. and far northern Lower Michigan in late Saturday thunderstorms.

Here are the outlined areas for various forms of severe weather. I would call this a potentially scattered area of severe thunderstorms. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) does have the lowest tornado risk they forecast, two percent, over part of northern Lower Michigan.

The overall risk of any form of severe weather shows you where the strongest thunderstorms are likely. Muskegon, Mount Pleasant, Traverse City to Mackinaw City are in the meaningful risk of severe thunderstorms.

The individual types of severe weather also follow that same shaded area of about the northern half of Lower Michigan. Spotty high wind gusts, isolated large hail and even an isolated tornado is possible Saturday.

The most likely time period for these severe thunderstorms is 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday.

One note from me: I think we need to watch Sunday for another round of severe thunderstorms. There will be a strong and fairly active warm front moving north through Lower Michigan Sunday. Warm fronts can have some very potent thunderstorms develop along them, especially in the heat of the afternoon and evening. A few of our best severe weather models indicate an east-west line of thunderstorms moving northward across Lower Michigan Sunday afternoon and evening. The Storm Prediction Center does not have us in a severe risk late Sunday, but they aren’t perfect. I’ve seen big adjustments to their severe weather area forecasts when the weather in question is two days out.

I’ll keep an eye on Sunday’s weather for you. Check back here through the weekend for updates.

DETROIT — A Michigan man who owns and operates a Clinton Township building that exploded in March, killing a teenager and injuring a firefighter, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors announced Thursday.

Noor Noel Kestou, 31, was arraigned on the 15-year felony charge in connection with the explosions on March 4 at Goo Smoke Shop/Select Distributors, where the incident rocked residents for miles in the county. Thousands of cans of nitrous oxide and butane were inside the building, the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office said.

Canisters propelled into the air and rained down throughout the area, with various types of debris found more than a mile away.

Turner Salter, 19, of Clinton Township, a bystander, died after he was hit in the head with a projectile about a quarter mile from the business. According to prosecutors, the teen was struck by a nitrous oxide canister. Township firefighter Matt Myers was also injured when debris came through the windshield of a vehicle and glass clipped the side of his face, officials previously said.

Kestou was ordered held in the county jail on a $500,000 bond during an arraignment in Clinton Township. A not-guilty plea was entered, according to district court records.

If Kestou posts bond, he must wear a GPS tether, surrender his passport, not leave the state, and have no weapons, according to the prosecutor’s office release. A probable cause conference was set for May 7.

Kestou’s attorney, James Thomas, said they are not commenting on the particulars of the case. He expected Kestou to make bond Thursday, and said they are going to continue to work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to clean up the site.

“It’s a terrible tragedy, and we’re going to let it work its way through the courts,” Thomas said.

Butane, nitrous oxide, lighter fluid and vape pens exploded during blaze

Prosecutor Peter Lucido said in his release: “Our hearts ache for the family and loved ones of the young man whose life was tragically cut short by this devastating explosion. We are steadfast in our commitment to pursuing justice and holding the individual accountable for their actions.”

Lucido, Township Supervisor Bob Cannon and Township Police Chief Dina Caringi plan to give an update on the explosions and fire during a news conference Friday at the township’s police headquarters. A township news release Thursday stated the explosions and fire were caused by improperly store canisters of butane and nitrous oxide and the update will focus on the results of the ongoing police investigation.

Township officials previously said the site, a former Save-A-Lot retail and warehouse store, wasn’t supposed to have butane and nitrous oxide tanks inside. They said butane and nitrous oxide, lighter fluid, vape pens and canisters measuring 12 to 18 inches and weighing 10 to 15 pounds exploded during the blaze.

Canisters as well as knives and blades that were inside the building were tossed into the air, raining down on police and fire crews as well as other properties. Cannon previously said the knives were legal, the canisters were not.

See photos of the blaze Fiery explosion leaves one dead and others injured in Michigan

‘That’s where the problem came’

Cannon said two commercial businesses were authorized to be in the building. Township property records listed three owners of parcels at the address. Township officials inspected the property in 2022, “then they brought things in the back door that we didn’t know about and that’s where the problem came,” Cannon said previously.

According to its website, Select Distributors is a wholesale supplier of novelty items, phone accessories and other merchandise to discount stores and other types of retailers and wholesalers.

Paul Brouwer, the township’s emergency management coordinator, previously said the debris field from the blaze and explosions was 1 mile across and dozens of canisters were found embedded in yards. Scott Kleinfeld, the township’s assistant superintendent of public works, previously said crews gathered debris from a 2-mile radius.

Township officials previously said the owner and employees had been cooperative in the investigation.

In mid-March, a spokesperson for Select Distributors emailed a statement: “Select Distributors is deeply saddened and expresses its sincerest condolences to the victim’s family. It is actively cooperating with investigators as they work to determine the cause of the accident. Select Distributors has been a proud employer and member of this community for over a decade and is focused on ensuring safety and support of its team members and community.”

Contact Christina Hall at chall@freepress.com or follow her on X @challreporter.

After attrition early this week along the defensive trenches, Michigan State football landed a transfer to shore up one of its interior holes.

Defensive tackle Brandon Lane reportedly agreed to transfer to the Spartans from Stephen F. Austin, according to ESPN. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

The 6-foot-3, 300-pound Kansas City, Missouri, native spent the past two seasons with the Lumberjacks, finishing 2023 with 44 tackles, including 6.5 for a loss and 1.5 sacks, in 11 games. He played seven games in 2022, finishing with 11 stops, 2.5 for a loss and a sack.

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Lane began his career at South Dakota State, playing in four games during the Football Championship Subdivision’s two 2021 seasons (due to the coronavirus pandemic). He played one game during the spring season and had one tackle in three games while preserving a redshirt that fall. (Players who participated in the spring 2021 season received an extra year of eligibility with an NCAA waiver.)

MSU lost starting defensive tackles Simeon Barrow and Derrick Harmon to the transfer portal this week, along with redshirt defensive ends Andrew Depaepe and Derrick Harmon. New coach Jonathan Smith added sixth-year transfer defensive tackles D’Quan Douse (Georgia Tech) and Quindarius Dunnigan (Middle Tennessee State). The Spartans also return sixth-year senior Maverick Hansen, who has starting experience.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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