November tornado touches down in Michigan, National Weather Service says
(CBS DETROIT) — An EF-0 tornado touched down in Holly on Sunday night, the National Weather Service confirmed Monday morning.
The tornado, which had an estimated path of one mile and, at its largest, was 50 yards wide, began at 6:56 p.m. and lasted for two minutes.
According to officials, the rare November tornado began in a wooded marshland southwest of Holly and continued northeast into Holly before dissipating east of the center of the village near the intersection of Martha Street and Washington Street. The tornado caused tree damage as well as damage to a construction site and several homes. No injuries have been reported.
The NWS estimates the tornado reached a peak wind speed of 70 miles per hour. The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies tornadoes into six categories, ranging from EF-0 to EF-5. An EF-0 tornado reaches 65 to 85 mph.
Jackie Hutton's house sustained significant damage, with gutters and shingles being ripped from the home, as well as a broken window and a dent in her garage. Hutton's 130-year-old home also experienced a power surge.
"It started with rain, and the wind started, and it picked up, and it couldn't have been more than … less than 30 seconds. It just went through really quick," said Hutton.
Holly American Legion Post 149 also sustained significant damage, and the building has been deemed unsafe to enter.
"A large portion of shingles were blown off the roof, and a horizontal crack formed in a major section of the hall," the Legion Post said on social media. "For safety reasons, entry into the building is strictly prohibited as we address these structural concerns. While initial observations suggest that strong winds may have lifted the soffit, causing the roof to shift and break a mortar joint separating it from the wall, these are only early speculations. A professional assessment is necessary to determine the full extent of the damage."
Sunday's spin-up tornado was similar to the deadly EF-1 tornado that touched down in Livonia in June. That tornado was 450 yards wide, had a 5.5-mile path and was also a spin-up. A 3-year-old boy was killed and his mother was critically injured when a tree fell on their home.
"It's rare, but small tornadoes can spin up in a matter of minutes and then die out as fast as they develop," said CBS Detroit NEXT Weather meteorologist Troy Bridges. "When quick spin-ups happen, there is very little warning. Sometimes they can form in one or two radar scans and then be gone."
