Severe storms hit Toledo Ohio and Ann Arbor Michigan
A major storm hit the midwest over the weekend, bringing with it large scale thunderstorms and tornados. The end reuslt is millions of dollars in property damages and seven lives lost. The path of destruction hit Illinois, Michigan and Ohio the hardest from as far north as Ann Arbor Michigan and south to Lima Ohio. With over 15 reported tornados accross the region the damages could have been worse and many property owners feel fortunate to be alive this week. In the Ohio area, Swancreek Township residents reports hearing the wind howling outside his home Saturday night. Soon thereafter they heard glass shattering, trees crashing down and a portion of roofs being torn from their home. In spite of the horrendous noise he heard, one thing they did not hear was a siren warning, alerting him to the fact that an F2 tornado was touching down nearby. The reason? The area that suffered the heaviest damage from the tornado does not have a siren to warn residents in their neighborhood, a potential oversight which potenially could have cost additional lives.
According to news reports, Fulton County officials report that the siren was sounded just before 10 p.m. Saturday night and that it went off for three minutes as it should. These officials believe that Nick simply lives too far from the nearest siren. There is a growing list of reports pouring in which consist of residents saying that they barely escaped the storm alive. Some reported of having to dive into crawl spaces and bathrooms just seconds before the tornado roared through town. It is becoming increasingly clearer that those people who were not watching weather reports on TV did not know that a tornado was bearing down on them until it was nearly too late. Mr. Grabowski said that it all happened so very quickly. All of a sudden his house was shaking, the windows were being blown out and then just five seconds later, it was over.
The National Weather Services says that the F2 tornado cut a 7½ mile wide path through the area as it traveled east. The maximum wind speeds were reported being at 135 miles per hour. Now officials are contemplating recommending that weather radios be purchased by residents who live outside of earshot of the warning sirens. The topic is expected to be discussed with rigor over the next couple of weeks as this area is often on the receiving end of heavy thunderstorms and the possibility of tornadoes.
