A violent storm dumped about 2” of rain on the tri-community within a few hours Saturday night, but while tornadoes threatened, they skipped this area.
Tornadoes were reported in Dundee and Taylor, wild winds tore at roofs and trees and caused the Fermi nuclear reactor plant in Monroe to shut down as a precaution. No fatalities were reported in Michigan from the storm.
The emergency sirens in the City of Belleville and Sumpter Township were sounded to warn residents of the danger of tornadoes in the Belleville-Sumpter area as announced by the National Weather Service.
Van Buren Township does not have emergency sirens.
Belleville Police Chief Gene Taylor praised the severe weather report televised by Channel 2, which put the weather as the priority and cancelled all regular programming and commercials until the danger ended in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
He said he contacted Channel 2 to thank it for its efforts.
Eight tornadoes hit southern Michigan over the weekend, three in southeastern Michigan.
The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado touched down at 2:11 a.m. at County Line and Rankin roads in Monroe County, causing high winds to rip off siding at a building at the Fermi 2 nuclear plant.
The National Weather Service said a tornado traveled southeast through Dundee for 13.5 miles, sustaining winds between 130 and 135 mph.
Belleville Planning Commission chairman Steve Jones was driving home from Ohio during the height of the storm and reported it was hard to see to drive. He also was alerted on his cell phone as he drove that a tornado was in his area.
In Van Buren and Canton townships, there were several roads flooded. In Canton, Michigan Avenue east of Haggerty was closed and I-94 was reported closed in two spots, due to flooding.
The dip under the railroad track on Belleville Road near Van Born that generally floods after heavy rains, flooded again. A driver who tried to make it had to abandon the vehicle, but left a bag or purse on the car roof.
A car was stuck in the water flooding Beck Road between Ecorse and Van Born on Sunday morning and had to be freed by a tow truck. Beck Road also was flooded near Beck Ball Fields, which also were flooded.
On Haggerty, deep flooding across the road slowed, but didn’t stop, traffic at Ecorse and Van Born intersections.
Sumpter Police Chief Jim Pierce said there was some road flooding in Sumpter, but nothing major that he knew of.
At Monday’s Belleville City Council meeting, Phyllis Smith said she would like to thank whoever was pushing the sirens four times in the city of Belleville to let residents know what was going on.
Another resident said she wanted to thank police, also, for waking her up, so she would know what was happening.
Mayor Richard Smith indicated he also would thank Channel 2 for its efforts.