Chaos, Catastrophe, and Calamity.
These words can describe the weather in lower Michigan this spring. The warmer weather is starting to come in, dragging along the perfect conditions for the formation of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.
On March 30th, the first set of storms started stretching across the United States and invaded Michigan, bringing strong winds with speeds up to 96mph, heavy rains, hail, and tornadoes. People faced property damage as well as lingering power outages. 9th Grader Bradley White said that they lost power for a week and lost a lot of their food. 10th Grader Valeria Morales was in the dark for 4 days because their power was returned. For the first time in 18 years, Michigan has seen over 10 tornadoes form from the same storm. This storm produced 12 twisters, spanning from the Michigan border to Kent City. 7th grader, Alaina Henderickson, had a disturbing experience when a tornado hit while she was at her friend’s house in Eaton Rapids.
“The tornado went over her house, knocking a tree over the was close and hit the roof,” Henderickson said. “It was big and old; the entire ceiling caved in.”
Hendrickson isn’t the only Stockbridge student who had a nerve-racking experience during the storm. 7th grader Chloey Finnigan didn’t have a tornado at her home in Gregory, but she and her family felt the damage from the powerful winds and heaving rains.
“Our barn collapsed because of the winds, and we lost power for a bit,” Finnigan said. “The barn was the worst because it was a lot of money since it held a lot of power tools.”
Folks from the Williamston area weren’t spared heavy effects after getting another bout of twisters (the last one happening only 2 years ago) to cause a devastating amount of damage. Special Education teacher Naomi Carson lives between Willamston and Webberville. She says that this area has unfortunately seemed to be in the direct path of such severe storms.
“Our damage was minor, I guess, in comparison to other people. As we were driving around, we saw barns knocked down. And on our way to church, there was a barn on Grand River in Williamston and a house that had a lot of damage,” Carson said. “We lost power, and there were a couple of trees down. We have a screened-in porch, and one of the walls fell.” It’s more than just the Stockbridge community facing damages from the storms. Leslie homeowner Colleen Wagner saw a relentless tornado passing through her backyard and destroying her property. While there was little damage to her house, there were dozens of trees down, destroyed fences, and ruined outbuildings.
“There was no time to take shelter from the tornado as it took down a 100+-year-old tree and tried to blow the doors and windows in on our 100+-year-old home. We had no idea of the devastation until the downpour of rain passed us by,” Wagner said. “By the time we knew it had hit, it was gone. Thank you to all the angels who stood hand-in-hand around our home! Thank you, Mother Nature, for reminding us of what you are capable of doing!”
