ARMADA, Mich. – The National Weather Service confirmed that two separate tornadoes passed through Armada in Macomb County and White Lake in Oakland County.
“It happened so fast and it was over and all the damage happened in 10 minutes. The pictures were one thing, but actually being here and seeing the street littered with debris and everything that happened and came along with that. The downed trees, it was awful,” Armada resident Justin Sebra said.
The tornadoes toppled trees onto homes, ripped roofs off some buildings. A clear path of widespread destruction was visible. The Armada community has experienced residents coming together to support each other. Some people have cooked food for the volunteers helping clean up the damage.
“I think we’re all just working together as a team and coming together as a community,” Armada resident Alex Abraham said.
Nearly 50 miles away, in White Lake Township, there was a similar situation. There is a clear path of widespread devastation and destruction there as well.
Karl Schloeb had damage on multiple sides of his home. Nothing compared to his neighbor across the street who is missing the side of his garage -- or his next door neighbor where the house was totally destroyed.
“I saw the clouds going in two different directions and then it started shaking everything. We ran into the basement and then we noticed the neighbors house was gone. So, we started running from house to house to make sure everything was OK,” Schloeb said.
One tree was knocked down in front of Mellissa Mason’s home. She said the biggest headache now ios the endless spectators driving by.
“I’ve got family and friends and emergency vehicles that are trying to come through and help and they can’t get through because of the constant parade of gawkers that apparently have never seen tornado damage in a subdivision before,” Mason said.
In all, only one injury was reported in both locations. A person with a broken arm in White Lake Township. Other than that, everyone is expected to be OK after an extremely dangerous night with mother nature.
“I am so so grateful that nothing happened to any of the individuals that I talked to. Everybody came out with health and safety,” White Lake Township resident and State Senator Jim Runestad said.
Read: Residents deal with aftermath of tornadoes in Armada, White Lake
What is the EF Scale?
The Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF Scale) is used to give a tornado a rating based on estimated wind speeds and related damage. The EF scale is a set of wind estimates, not measurements, based on damage.
The National Weather Service is the only federal agency with the authority to provide official tornado EF Scale ratings. The aim is to give a tornado an EF Scale category based on the highest wind speed that occurred within the damage path.
- EF-0: 65-85 mph
- EF-1: 86-110 mph
- EF-2: 111-135 mph
- EF-3: 136-165 mph
- EF-4: 166-200 mph
- EF-5: Over 200 mph
Click here to learn more about the EF Scale.