Two separate tornadoes struck down along areas of Genesee and Calhoun Counties early Wednesday morning following a record-breaking February day with temperatures reaching into the low 70s.
The National Weather Service classified the tornado in Genesee as EF-2, with peak winds reaching 115 miles per hour, and the one in Calhoun County as EF-1, exceeding 110 miles per hour. The rare weather events mark only the second recorded instance of February tornadoes in southeast Michigan.
Hail as large as one-inch in diameter was also observed across the Lower Peninsula, according to the National Weather Service.
The tornado in Grand Blanc touched down around 1 a.m. Wednesday, leaving behind a broken gas line and several downed trees and power lines.
“There's an old apartment building that part of the roof was pulled off,” said Grand Blanc Police Lieutenant Bryan Byarski. “Most of the damage was from uprooted trees falling against homes.”
Despite the extensive wreckage from the storm, no injuries have been reported.
During the event, Grand Blanc police say a woman's home was damaged by a large tree.
"The homeowner was fine,” said Byarski. “She heard the sirens and made her way to the basement just as the tornado came through and dropped the tree on her house.”
She, along with 40 residents of the city's largest subdivision, Indian Hill, were forced to evacuate soon after the tornado touched down due to the damage.
“The fire department helped people evacuate their homes because of the gas line break,” said Grand Blanc City Manager Wendy Jean-Buhrer.
Following the storm, the city’s department of public works staff have been clearing and assessing the damage left behind.
“We have not declared a state of emergency at this time, but as we get further into this that may change the picture,” said Jean-Buhrer.
As of Wednesday late afternoon, nearly 1,200 residents in Grand Blanc were waiting for their power to be restored according to Consumer’s Energy outage map.
