The latest group of storms blew through central Indiana, southeastern Kansas and western Missouri on Wednesday, turning into at least three tornadoes and causing widespread damage, The Associated Press reported.

Michigan has had one tornado touch down this year. On April 9, an Enhanced Fujita (or EF) scale 1 tornado touched down near Allendale according to the National Weather Service. However, National Weather Service senior forecaster Bob Dukesherer said that residents should still be prepared for tornadoes throughout the storm season.

Tornadoes are typically seen from February through October, though they occur most often April through June, he said.

“The entire state should be worried about tornadoes,” Dukesherer said.

The EF scale uses a range from zero to five, with zero being the safest and five being the most dangerous. Tornadoes are measured by their wind speed, destruction, and quality of the structure of their target area, Dukesherer said.

Michigan ranks fifth in the amount of tornado-related fatalities, with 237 between 1950 and 1994, according to National Weather Service archives.

The last major tornado that impacted the Lansing area was in October in Williamston, when two people were killed after an EF2 tornado touched down.

Williamston Mayor Michelle Hyne said there are some residents with homes near Williamston High School that are still rebuilding.

“I would say for the most part that while this was a terrible experience, it brought the community together and showed our community spirit,” Hyne said.

Thunderstorms produce tornadoes, and tornadoes travel with them, Dukesherer said.

“The three things that you need just to get thunderstorms going are moisture, instability and lift,” Dukesherer said.

Dukesherer said the fastest tornadoes are usually around 200 mph. He also said they can reach up to 300 mph, faster than some hurricanes.

MSU Police have four different sirens across campus in the event of a tornado warning said Denni Kraft, security systems administrator. The alarms are tested the first Saturday of every month.

Angela Brown, MSU’s director of university housing, said that the residence halls’ goal in a tornado is to make sure everyone is notified.

Brown said that the halls use periodic hold drills.

“We get very good participation when alarms go off, especially in a bad weather situation when you can see that it would be in your best interest to get to a safe place,” she said,

In the case of an actual tornado, a reverse 911 system operated by police sends a message to all student phones hooked up in dorm rooms. An alarm also goes off on every floor.

The emergency text messaging system was engaged for the first time to nearly 13,000 subscribers in October.