Tornadoes Rip Through Michigan, Destroy or Damage Over 100 Homes

Three reported tornadoes tore through southeastern Michigan Thursday, destroying 13 homes and leaving 105 houses significantly damaged, while downing power lines, sparking fires and flooding streets in Dexter, Mich. Sheriff's spokesman Derrick Jackson said there were no reports of serious injuries or fatalities.

A tornado touchdown was reported in Dexter and the surrounding area northwest of Ann Arbor, Michigan Thursday night, according to Marc Breckenridge, director of Emergency Management for Washtenaw County. The National Weather Service said a "significant'' tornado touched down in Washtenaw County at about 5:15 p.m., and there were over 200 reports of severe weather Thursday from Tennessee through Michigan.

I remember that! It was my oldest sister's Confirmation day. We had company and it was pouring outside. We lived in Detroit at the time. Our relatives from northwest Ohio were there. Their cottage on a lake just outside of Hillsdale, MI had a hole put in the roof when a tree fell on it. They were very fortunate. A new cottage across the road, probably 80 feet away, was totally destroyed along with others along the lake shore. I think, if you go for a walk in the woods there, you can still see the foundations of a few of those cottages.

My daughter has an attic apartment just east of U of M's campus. She and her cat were down in the basement of the house and she was texting me for updates. I was trying to keep track of the different storm cells, which were heading all different directions, and give her an idea about whether her car was going to be safe from the hail. She had wondered earlier in the day if she should pay to park it in a structure until the storm past. She got heavy rain and small, non-damaging hail, so she was ok. She did have to drive to work near the sports complex during the tail end of the storm. Meanwhile, here in Plymouth, it got very dark and we had some rain, but that was it.

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