This past Saturday we had plans to go to an annual chicken BBQ held in a little town near my hometown. It's one of those small town events, with good food, a band, a petting zoo, old cars and of course - tractors! We've been going to this as a family for as long as I can remember, and my Dad still invites the whole family and pays for their meal! Most of the family was planning to go today. But then, the rain came. As I was on the phone with my sister trying to decide if we should attempt it, we got news that there was a tornado warning, and then that the tornado was right near the little town we were going to be going to. We then knew there would be no chicken that night.
We are blessed in Michigan to rarely have severe tornadoes. Usually they are small and short lived. This was not the case on this day. Soon there was a tornado warning for the county I live in, and then I heard the tornado was now headed toward my Dad's house, then it headed toward Grand Rapids, passing near my daughter Laura's house, and then passed Heather in the city.
The tornado was on the ground for over and hour and cut a 3/4 mile swath when it touched down. It was apparently bouncing up and down as it traveled. They say now that there was possibly 3 other tornadoes.The amazing thing is that no one was hurt in all that time. There was damage to some houses and cars, and lots of trees came down.
Here's a photo, courtesy of Wood TV.
We went for a ride that evening and I took a few pictures.
There was a lot of debris on the roads and sidewalks.
Trees were down all over!
This street was closed because so many trees were down.
You can see that some trees were down, and right between them others remain standing.
At the end of the day, the clouds moved on, the sky was blue, and we are thanking God that there were no injuries!
Mari this is incredible! I too thank God that none of you were hurt, or that your property was damaged. That's terrifying. I've never been anywhere near a tornado (that I know of) and I hope it stays that way. I'm sorry you missed your chicken event. I remember your pictures of that fun time, in the past. xoxo
ReplyDeleteOh my that brings back bad memories of the many tornados that have hit our area. I am thankful that we never suffered any damage and it is amazing the way one house will be gone and the neighbors house is just fine. We had a waterspout over the Tennessee river Saturday evening as storms came through here. Thankfully it did not come ashore.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness - that is quite a twister! Sorry your plans were ruined but such a blessing that no one was hurt. Stay safe and have a good week.
ReplyDeleteOh Marie, how scary! I know you were anxious to hear from your girls and your Dad. Whew! I would have been horrified. Bless you my friend. So thankful no one was hurt. I hope there wasn't alot of damage to homes. We were in Nashville the year that the 27 tornadoes touched down. We stayed in a basement at the college where was the central weather station set up by the college. We heard everything. Nashville often has tornado sirens go off. My kids have slept (or not slept) in their halls many times.
ReplyDeleteThankful no one was hurt with all of that destruction. It's amazing how blue and pretty the sky is at the end of such bad weather.
ReplyDeleteWow....mother nature.
ReplyDeleteDangerous.
And yes, thank goodness y'all remained safe!!
WOW, you did have a wild weekend for sure. Thankful no one was injured, but all the trees and debris is enough. Sorry the fun time had to be cancelled, but better to be safe, than sorry. Hope you have a good Monday.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, glad everything is ok, we did see that on the Weather Channel and was wondering about y'all. Tornadoes are rare here in western NY, but it does happen. Have a beautiful day, Mari.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, Mari! We didn't hear about this down here. So glad no one was hurt. It is sad to see so many trees down, but thank goodness there wasn't more damage than that, and that your family members are all okay!
ReplyDeleteNature is humbling, isn't it? It seems a miracle that no one was hurt.
ReplyDeleteI agree, praise the Lord no injuries!
ReplyDeleteScary weather, actually frightening. I remember a town here in FL years ago being totally devastated; no homes left and deaths. :(
xoxo
So happy everyone is ok. We get small tornadoes here. One came near us almost a year ago. A girl I used to work with had her beautiful backyard completely destroyed. Every single tree came down ....it still looks like a wasteland....so sad.
ReplyDeleteWe had heavy rain here but no storms. Today it's comfortable and beautiful. No humidity!
Yiikees!! Scary stuff! So thankful to the Lord above that nobody was hurt. Hope that's end of extreme summer weather and let's transition into a lovely Fall!! ;)
ReplyDeletexoxo
Glad you're all ok! You're right...we don't hear of many tornadoes up there...they are much more common down here! And it always seems there is bright blue sky the day after a tornado!
ReplyDeleteThat must have been the same line of storms moving from west to east that came through here. We also had three tornados on the ground a couple of miles from here. Chad was at the fair that evening and fortunately he came home before it hit. Someone at the fair took a picture of one tornado because it could be seen from the fairgrounds.
ReplyDeleteOne cut a swath through cornfields for several miles and took out a barn but no one was hurt. Someone from Dayton called us and said, "Do you know that there is a tornado on the ground near you?" We were like.....WHAT? We had no idea that there were tornado warnings.
What a blessing that no one was hurt!
ReplyDelete