(WWJ) The National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado did touch down on Detroit's east side -- the city's first in nearly three-decades.
Mayor Mary Sheffield said the touch down occurred near Mt. Elliott and East Vernor, and the tornado continued southeast to Belle Isle. She said the Rouge Park area also suffered major damage.
The Director of Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department (BSEED) said a minimum of 20 buildings were damaged. Assessments are still underway.
The last confirmed tornado touchdown in the city of Detroit was back in 1997.
This confirmation comes after crews from the NWS White Lake office were in the field assessing the damage, Friday morning.
In the city, the hardest-hit areas were along Concord Ave. and E. Vernor Hwy., as well as Jefferson Ave. and E. Grand Blvd, at the entrance to Belle Isle.
Speaking to WWJ's Taylor Dietz, NWS Detroit Meteorologist Steve Considine said sometimes confirmations take a bit longer depending on what you're dealing with.
"It depends a lot on the length of the path," Considine said. "Obviously, a longer path length is gonna take a longer time to survey, and then it also depends on the area. If it's rural versus an urban area. In an urban area like Detroit, you're going to be looking at a lot assessing the damage to buildings and structures."
Considine said the damage to buildings and trees look a bit different when it's from a tornado, rather than straight-line winds.
No injuries were reported during storms in Detroit.
Much of the WWJ Newsradio 950 listening area was under a tornado warning at some point over the last 24 hours, but surveys are ongoing to determine if there were any other tornado touchdowns.
In Livingston County, the Brighton Area Fire Authority posted on Facebook that there was a "confirmed tornado in Webberville," Thursday afternoon. But there was no immediate information from the NWS about any potential Webberville twister.
In the previous round of storms Wednesday night., the NWS said it has confirmed that a brief tornado touched down in St. Clair County.
Weather spotters say the weak EF-0 tornado struck just northeast of Marysville around 7:20 p.m. Wednesday (9/2). Peak winds hit 75 miles per hour along a narrow path between Gratiot Boulevard and Highway 29.
No one was hurt, and the storm left behind only sporadic tree damage along its path.
No injuries were reported there.
There are numerous tree and power line damage across Southeast Michigan after a couple of rounds of late-summer storms blew through late Wednesday and Thursday. DTE Energy said there were more than 300,000 homes and businesses without power, late Thursday afternoon. By Friday morning, the numbers was down to around 250,000. [CHECK THE DTE OUTAGE MAP]
DTE Energy reminds to public to always stay at least 25 feet away from any downed power lines and anything they are in contact with. [Report a damaged power line here].
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