National Weather Service explains track of April 4 tornado

The tornado that traveled 3.2 miles, from 5:46 to 5:50 p.m. April 4 went about 48 mph across Van Buren Township and the city of Belleville.
It all started when a cold front tracked across southeast Michigan during the late afternoon-early evening hours of April 4, leading to two lines of thunderstorms each producing pockets of damage south of I-94. Despite weak instability, the strongest cells were able to capitalize on low level wind shear near the intersection of the warm front and marine boundary layer, leading to rotation along the line.
Storm surveys were conducted in both Whiteford Township (Monroe County) and Van Buren Township (Wayne County). The Monroe County cell was determined to be straight-line wind damage due to a divergent pattern. The Wayne County cell was determined to be an EF-1 tornado based on the damage pattern, radar data, and video evidence.
This system also produced heavy rain with widespread storm totals of 1-to-3 inches and localized reports up to 4 inches. This event followed a wet pattern that occurred through the days prior, with widespread 5-day rainfall totals of 3-to-5 inches across much of lower Michigan.