GRAND BLANC (WWJ) — The National Weather Service has confirmed an EF-2 tornado touched down overnight in Grand Blanc.
The tornado touched down shortly before 1:15 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28, hitting Creasey Bicentennial Park on Grand Blanc Road, where it damaged a pavilion and uprooted a pine tree.
NWS officials say it was only the second time a tornado has been observed in February over Southeast Michigan, almost exactly 50 years after one touched down on Feb. 28, 1974 in Wayne County.
The Grand Blanc tornado, about 450 yards wide, reached an estimated peak wind of 115 mph, and had a path of about 5.7 miles, according to the NWS.
Another tornado touched down near Marshall in Calhoun County around 12:30 a.m. The NWS confirmed that tornado was an EF-1.
Grand Blanc Twp. Police Lt. Todd Gilbert told WWJ there have been no reported deaths or injuries.
Cleanup efforts extended well into Wednesday afternoon, as multiple homes and commercial buildings were damaged, along with trees, power lines and gas lines. More than 2,000 Consumers Energy remained without power, as of 3 p.m. Wednesday.
The tornado, which Gilbert said “sounded like a freight train” as it moved into the area, brought down numerous trees on homes near Downtown Grand Blanc, according to the NWS.
Gilbert said all reported gas leaks have been fixed, as of 3 p.m.
Stan Peterzak, who lives near where the tornado touched down, told WWJ’s Jon Hewett trees were snapping all around him.
“It sounded like a bomb going off,” Peterzak said, noting he walked outside in the middle of the night to check out the damage.
“Luckily, nothing hit the house. We lost some shingles. The back of the property is pretty devastated. All those big cottonwood trees are pretty much all gone. Other than that, we’re pretty lucky,” he said.
Regina Clemenshaw was just blocks from where the tornado touched down, telling Hewett her husband woke her up in the middle of the night and said “things are flying by the windows.”
Wednesday morning's wild weather in Michigan came less than 24 hours after Detroit broke an all-time February high temperature, hitting 73 degrees Tuesday afternoon.
Temperatures had dropped to below freezing by Wednesday afternoon, with some areas seeing snowflakes flying.