Storms cause damage in north end
Much of it took place at a residential neighborhood and apartment complex
Residents and business owners in northern Macomb County on Thursday continued to clean up damage and wait for power to be restored after a line of thunderstorms that moved through the area the day before.
Much of the destruction took place in Washington Township where township officials said “significant” damage was reported to Stony Creek Apartments and the Autumn Park subdivision. Other parts of the community saw uprooted trees, downed power lines and inoperable traffic signals.
“The storm left a trail of destruction, impacting several residences and properties in the affected areas,” said township Supervisor Sam Previti.
A carport was destroyed at an apartment complex, which sent metal flying through the air and damaging nearby homes in the township.
Homeowner Rob Cherba told Fox 2 Detroit (WJBK-TV) the metal damaged his home.
“There’s an apartment complex behind our house, and their carport is in the backyard. The power lines are down. Landscaping, all the yard stuff is all over the place,” Cherba told the TV station. “The backyard was a disaster.”
Fire Chief Brian Tyrell said the damage to the area of Stony Creek Apartments, near Van Dyke Avenue, north of 27 Mile Road, was “fairly substantial.”
“The wind literally picked up a steel carport, and pushed it through a vinyl privacy fence and left it leaning against some houses,” Tyrell said. “
High winds from the storm were also blamed for numerous trees being toppled, with some still blocking driveways, and downing
power lines. At least two road closures were related to downed lines blocking vehicular access.
According to the Macomb County Department of Roads, the closures are Schoenherr Road between 28 Mile-29 Mile roads, and Jewell Road between 27 Mile-28 Mile roads. A spokesman for the roads department said both roadways were expected to open later Thursday.
A few miles away in Shelby Township, residents found downed trees and power lines on Roland Street, in the area of Auburn and Woodall roads.
No injuries were reported.
As of 5 p.m. Thursday,
there were about 85 homes and businesses without electricity around 27 Mile and M-53 in 5 Washington, according to DTE Energy’s online outage map. There are also another 100 outages in neighborhoods north of Auburn Road, west of River Bends Park, in Shelby Township and scattered outages in various parts of Macomb County.
The fast-moving storms caused minor damage elsewhere in the county.
More stable weather conditions are in store for Friday when, according to the National Weather Service, sunny skies and cooler temperatures, with a high near 60 degrees are expected.