Possible tornado? Strong storm damages trees in Sharon Township

Photo by Anna Deevers of funnel-shaped storm clouds moving through Sharon Township Thursday afternoon.

Thursday afternoon the National Weather Service declared a severe thunderstorm warning for Washtenaw County as a number of storm cells moved through the area. One cell, which went north of the Village, left destruction in its wake and may have formed a funnel cloud.

Stephanie Celkis who lives just off of Pleasant Lake Road knew it was serious when the winds picked up. “I sent the kids down in the basement with the dogs because trees were going down all around the house and I didn’t want anything to happen to them. I saw grape size hail,” she stated.

After the storm moved through, three trees in her yard had broken in half and many limbs were down. She reports that her neighbor had a tree fall across Pleasant Lake road and a live wire come down next to their propane tank, starting two separate fires. Celkis noticed at the time that the concentrated damage was in a straight line and wondered if it was a possible it was a small tornado.

Her possible tornado theory got a boost when her friend Anna Deevers posted a photo on Facebook of what appears to be a funnel cloud descending over Celkis’s house. Celkis explains, “I made the prediction that it was a tornado after seeing the line of damage. I got back on Facebook and saw the picture after I had made that prediction. And sure enough Anna lives across on the other side of Pleasant Lake road and back a ways so she completely captured the very thing that was over my house.”

Was it a tornado? David Halteman, Emergency Services Director for Washtenaw County responded that there was definitely no indication of a tornado on radar and no confirmed reports of a tornado. But he confirmed it was a damaging storm with high winds. He stated, “Certainly was a strong and in some areas a severe thunderstorm with winds in excess of 60 MPH confirmed.”

Celkis family investigating damaged limbs on a tree after the storm had passes. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Celkis.

Branches down on top of the house after the storm. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Celkis.

Tree down across Pleasant Lake Thursday afternoon after the storm moved through. Photo courtesy of Julie Helquist.

For as little as $1 a month, you can keep Manchester-focused news coverage alive.

by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.