National Weather Service: Tornado caused damage Thursday in Frenchtown Township

Tom Hawley, David Panian and Suzanne Nolan Wisler, The Monroe News
Updated ·4 min read
A large oak tree fell onto this home on South Grove Street in Grand Beach, Frenchtown Township. "This is the worst I have seen," Frenchtown Fire Chief Wendy Stevens said. The family was not home at the time the tree fell, residents in the area said. All up and down South Grove Street were several massive trees that fell due to a possible tornado Thursday evening.

A tornado struck neighborhoods in Frenchtown Township along Lake Erie Thursday evening, the National Weather Service said Friday morning.

No one was injured, but trees and branches were blown down and at least one home was severely damaged during a thunderstorm that generated the tornado warning.

“Several on Detroit Beach, Woodland Beach, Indian Trails and Grand Beach had substantial damage to their homes,” Frenchtown Township Fire Chief Wendy Stevens said Friday morning. “At South Grove and East Promenade in Grand Beach, a very mature oak tree collapsed a home. At several homes, tree limbs looked like spears through the roof. The resort authority said there was debris everywhere. This is the worst I have ever seen."

The South Grove Street homeowners were not home when the tree fell, area residents said.

Damaged trees are shown in Grand Beach.
Damaged trees are shown in Grand Beach.

Stevens planned to survey the communities Friday.

“It got too dark (Thursday). There was no way to do an assessment,” she said.

Stevens said there were the typical number of injury calls Thursday evening.

“Nothing storm-related,” she said. “We have six full-time fighters; five were on duty Thursday night. We got 21 calls. We called in the city of Monroe on a couple of runs. We were just taxed (with storm damage calls).”

A damage survey would be provided later Friday, the Weather Service office near Pontiac said in a post on Twitter. The survey will provide the path the tornado took, wind speed and a summary of the damage.

Stevens said two Frenchtown firefighters saw the funnel cloud directly over Station 2 on Nadeau Road.

“There were (getting back) from a truck fire on I-75 and were backing into the station,” she said. “Seconds later, the calls started. If these two tell me they saw it, I absolutely believe they saw it.”

A large oak tree fell onto this home on South Grove Street in Grand Beach, Frenchtown Township, due to a possible tornado Thursday evening.
A large oak tree fell onto this home on South Grove Street in Grand Beach, Frenchtown Township, due to a possible tornado Thursday evening.

The National Weather Service office near Pontiac issued the tornado warning at about 6:15 p.m. after radar indicated a possible tornado near the Lake Erie shore. The warning area included Detroit Beach, Woodland Beach and Stony Point.

The warning was allowed to expire at 6:30 p.m.

More than 700 people were without power in the area between Detroit Beach and Stony Point as of 8 a.m. Friday. There were other scattered outages around Monroe County, according to DTE Energy's and Consumers Energy's online outage maps.

“Some lines caused fire in trees. Every beach was out. There was no power on Dixie Highway. Generators are still running, so there is still no power,” Stevens said Friday morning.

Down power lines are shown Friday morning on Harborview Street in Detroit Beach.
Down power lines are shown Friday morning on Harborview Street in Detroit Beach.

Stevens offered praise for the residents of Frenchtown Township.

“Kudos to the residents of those beaches. There’s nothing like the community of people who live out here. People were removing trees from the road. There were chainsaws going everywhere. Kids were helping. Neighbors were helping neighbors. It’s a fantastic display of community," Stevens said. "It’s quite incredible to see that when something happens here, like the floods of 2018, they just come together. It makes me proud to be from here.”

Stevens said the last tornado to touch down in Frenchtown Township was in 2010. It was part of the same system that spawned the tornado that struck Dundee that year.

This is the second tornado of the year in Monroe County. An EF0 tornado went through downtown Dundee on April 1, causing tree and building damage.

The storm was part of a system that swept through southeastern Michigan and northwestern Ohio. In Livingston County, a hailstorm wiped out the fields at Bentley Lake Farms among other widespread damage. The NWS issued special marine warnings for Lake Erie north to Lake St. Clair and severe thunderstorm warnings in the region. In Sandusky and Ottawa counties, Ohio, there was storm damage and another tornado warning.

In Monroe, the weekly Concert in the Park at St. Mary's Park, featuring the Monroe Big Band, was canceled before the storm arrived, and Downtown Monroe Wine Crawl organizers made arrangements for people to be able to go inside one of the downtown venues while waiting for the event to start.

This is a developing story. It will be updated as new information becomes available.

Digital producer/planner Paula Wethington contributed to this report.

Yellow caution tape marks where wires were down on Third Street and Pleasant View in Detroit Beach, Frenchtown Township, Thursday evening, June 15, 2023 due to a possible tornado. Frenchtown firefighters had been on the scene.
Yellow caution tape marks where wires were down on Third Street and Pleasant View in Detroit Beach, Frenchtown Township, Thursday evening, June 15, 2023 due to a possible tornado. Frenchtown firefighters had been on the scene.
Frenchtown Fire Department Chief Wendy Stevens is on the scene on South Grove Street in Grand Beach, Frenchtown Township, after leaving the scene of a tall maple tree that fell across the road.
Frenchtown Fire Department Chief Wendy Stevens is on the scene on South Grove Street in Grand Beach, Frenchtown Township, after leaving the scene of a tall maple tree that fell across the road.
All up and down South Grove Street in Grand Beach were several massive trees and limbs down due to a possible tornado Thursday evening, June 15, 2023.
All up and down South Grove Street in Grand Beach were several massive trees and limbs down due to a possible tornado Thursday evening, June 15, 2023.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Thunderstorm causes tornado warning in Frenchtown Township