Storms, multiple confirmed tornadoes across Michigan leave communities reeling

A gray sky settled Friday over lower Michigan as residents took stock of the lives lost and property damaged by a string of storms that whipped across the region the night before, leaving hundreds of thousands without power.

People awakened to find twisted metal and wooden beams strewn across wet yards from Kent County on the state’s west side to Monroe County on the east.

At least five deaths statewide were believed to be tied to the Thursday night storms.

One Detroit freeway was completely flooded and morning traffic on other major roads was halted or slowed by water.

Multiple confirmed tornadoes hit lower Michigan — one north of Grand Rapids, with an EF-1 rating, and a stronger one east of Lansing that is believed to have crossed into Livingston County, according to meteorologists at the National Weather Service.

An EF-1 tornado also struck west of Belleville and an EF-0 tornado struck Canton.

Assessments of other possible tornado touchdowns were still underway late Friday.

Emergency declared

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Wayne and Monroe counties, citing road and bridge closures, downed power lines, damaged buildings, overwhelmed stormwater and sewer systems and hundreds of homes with flooding damage.

“This emergency declaration will ensure state resources are available as quickly as possible to help Michiganders in need," the governor said in a statement. "I want to thank all the first responders and emergency crews who worked hard through the night to save lives. We will recover and rebuild together.”

Just a day before, Whitmer had activated the State Emergency Operations Center after flooding in southeast Michigan from a prior round of storms. The earlier storms caused chaos and stranded passengers at Detroit Metro Airport, and turned the streets of Canton into rivers.

As Wayne County declared a state of emergency Friday, County Executive Warren Evans said he was seeking disaster relief from the state and federal governments.

Downriver cities such as Flat Rock and Gibraltar — as well as Canton in western Wayne — were hit particularly hard with flooding. Wayne County also issued a health advisory, telling residents to avoid the Lower River Rouge downstream of Canton because the city had to discharge partially treated wastewater.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, said she visited flooded neighborhoods.

“Rockwood got 7 inches of rain in four hours. Belleville set the record nationally and got 7.3 inches," Dingell said. "These communities just don't have sewer systems that can handle that."

Flooding and debris continued to impact freeways across metro Detroit throughout the day Friday.

Interstate 275 at I-94 remained closed Friday, and MDOT cameras showed a massive flood that covered the road. Water also flooded high under the overpass at I-94 at Van Dyke.

Outside of metro Detroit, in the area where the tornado touched down on I-96, the freeway was closed due to debris, and social media users posted photos of damaged and overturned trucks and downed trees.

Power still out

About 400,000 utility customers were still without power late Friday afternoon.

A DTE Energy spokesperson said the utility company anticipates restoring power to 80% of its impacted customers by the end of day Saturday, and to 95% by end of the day Sunday.

Consumers Energy said it also hoped to restore service to most of those customers who are in the dark by late Sunday.

Homes damaged

Some people felt lucky to be alive.

A mobile home in the Frenchtown Villa community in Monroe County rolled off its foundation, damaging a neighboring home, The Monroe News reported.

The damage in the area was so bad that rumors of a death started spreading online, although Frenchtown Fire Chief Wendy Stevens said that it wasn’t true.

“One trailer was on top of the other and somebody could have easily died in it, there's no doubt about that, but we did not have any loss of life,” Stevens told the Monroe News.

Near Lansing, Lisa DuLac, a resident of the Hamlin mobile home park south of Webberville and I-96, was sheltering in her bathtub when a tree fell on her home, the Lansing State Journal reported.

“My house is pretty much in half,” she said.

Farther east in Fowlerville, Brandon Lang and his family of four took cover in a 3-foot-deep crawlspace beneath their house, the Livingston Daily reported.  

“We were just holding on to each other, praying that we weren't going to die," Lang said.

The storm's path

The tornado near Grand Rapids is believed to have been of a weaker variety, despite the Thursday destruction. EF-1 tornados are the second-weakest type of tornados, according to the National Weather Service.

A stronger tornado is believed to have hit in Ingham County, said Bruce Smith, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

In Lansing, one person was pronounced dead after officials responded to reports about 10:20 p.m. of a tree fallen on a home, the Lansing State Journal reported. Another death was reported along I-96 in the Williamston area east of Lansing.

Smith said it was along I-96, in the Williamston and Webberville area east of Lansing, where another confirmed tornado struck and reportedly flipped vehicles.

The rating of that tornado is still being reviewed, Smith said. However, it was an EF-1 as it crossed into Livingston County, said Steve Freitag, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in White Lake Township.

A single tornado is believed to have crossed from Ingham County into Livingston, although Smith said there is speculation of possibly two tornados in the area.

The weather service announced later in the day Friday that an EF-0 tornado — the weakest type — had struck Canton. It touched down at 10:19 p.m. Thursday just north of Pheasant Run Golf course, moved southeast, then crossed numerous roads and dissipated just north of the Lower River Rouge. Even though it was classified as weak, it still produced 80-mph winds.

An EF-1 tornado also was confirmed to have struck Belleville at 10:23 p.m. Thursday.

About five other possible tornado locations were under review as of Friday afternoon in Monroe, Washtenaw and Wayne counties.

Michigan power outage map: How to check your status

In Canton, residents were dealing with flooded basements throughout the night and power outages into the morning, officials said. Downed trees dotted the main roads and several streetlights were without power.

Cleaning crews were busy clearing out water at closed strip mall stores, including a Sephora and Kohl's.

Canton Supervisor Anne Marie Graham-Hudak said heavy wind shears hit Palmer and Warren Roads. Parks were destroyed.

A busy library

Vehicles packed Canton Public Library’s parking lot Friday as people, many without power at home, streamed into the building in search of Wi-Fi and a spot to work.

Library staff said they were about three times as busy as a normal Friday. Extra tables and chairs were brought out to accommodate the crowd.

Library employee Laurie Golden, who lives in Plymouth, came in to work despite her own home suffering damage from the overnight storms. She recalled how, as her family hunkered down in their basement while tornado sirens blared, she heard a giant boom, and later discovered that a tree in her neighbor’s yard had fallen over her dining room and garage.

One library visitor, Tracy Neil, 60, was among those without power at home. Water from the storms had come up onto his street and was creeping up his driveway.

“I’ve never seen flooding like this here,” Neil said.

Tips: What to do during power outage, severe flooding

This article was reported in partnership with sister papers Livingston Daily, Lansing State Journal and The Monroe News.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Multiple confirmed tornadoes across Michigan leave communities reeling