Epic F2 Tornado Hits Rural Southern Michigan
Lifelong residents of southern Michigan know all too well that they have to live with the fact that this area in the state is prone to tornado activity. Throughout just the past few decades, the lower portion of Michigan has seen hundreds of tornadoes move through and do some very substantial damage. The most notorious twister in history is the Palm Sunday tornado of April 11th 1965 which killed fifteen, injured over 200 and left hundreds of people homeless.
The residents of southern Michigan just experienced what is yet another one for the history books this past weekend when a total of eight twisters tore through several communities, leaving behind a great deal of devastation and heartbreak. The small town of Dundee which is located in Monroe county just an half hour’s drive from Ann Arbor was the worst hit. An category F2 tornado ripped through this sleepy farming community and tore roofs off homes, sent barns and garages flying and had hundreds of locals terrified for the full thirteen minutes it was reported on the ground.
The tornado with wind speeds up to 135 miles per hour tore through the Dundee region, knocking over trees and power lines, ripping roofs off homes and sent at least eleven people to the hospital with injuries. The tornado touched down at just past 2 a.m. and tore a path of utter destruction five miles long and a half of a mile wide. The tornado was the result of a cold front colliding with warm and unstable air. A state of emergency was declared in Dundee Township as well as in the village of Dundee. Nearly 200 people who were staying at a nearby water park were force to evacuate. The group was taken to the junior high school in Dundee to wait out the storm.
One resident, Todd Taylor, reports that his whole house was shaking and that he and his family got out of bed and ran full speed through the dark to the safety of the basement. He could feel the pressure inside the home as the windows bowed inward before shattering. He described it as feeling like the whole house was ‘shrinking’. Many residents describe that they felt like they were in a war zone with the horrible sounds of high winds and trees snapping and buildings and roofs collapsing in the pitch darkness around them as they cowered in bathrooms and basements.
Dundee residents are still trying to grasp what had happened to them last weekend. Some residents came out of their basements after the storm to find their garages and barns completely gone from the foundations. Hundreds of volunteers have come to Dundee to help the residents clean up the horrible mess left behind. Dundee natives are counting their blessings this week as no lives were lost and are hoping that this is the last ‘Big One’ for them.
