65 mph straight-line winds rip roof off Ferndale building, topple trees and power lines
Ferndale bore the brunt of Wednesday's thunderstorms, with strong winds estimated at 65 mph that downed trees and power lines, and even ripped the roofs off of buildings — all within an area of several blocks.
The powerful gusts were from straight-line winds, not those of a tornado, confirmed Alex Manion, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in White Lake Township, who surveyed the damage in Ferndale with a team.
"Most locations saw 45 to 50 mph wind gusts (but) it looks like Ferndale and possibly the eastern portion of Oakland County saw some localized higher gusts. Ferndale was likely the highest that we saw, a little hotspot of 65 mph," said Manion.
The storm barreled into Ferndale shortly after 3 p.m., he said, scattering damages mainly along 9 Mile Road, Paxton Street, Hilton Road, and Bonner Street.
"It was very, very sporadic; there were several blocks or a whole section that had no damage whatsoever," said Manion.
More: Michigan House briefly evacuated during tornado warning (freep.com)
In a security camera video posted to Instagram, the footage records spinning winds pulling the roof of a building and electric lines popping with bright flashes of purple light.
City Manager Joseph Gacioch also said most of the damage was limited to a section of east 9 Mile and north Hilton Road — the majority of the city even maintained power.
"I was on a remote call with city hall at the time, asking about the storm because I was in Canton," said Gacioch. "Everyone at city hall thought it was just a typical storm, which goes to say that we didn't know there was such an impact ... and (city hall) is maybe only five blocks away from the (Ferndale Housing Commission) Autumn House? It was very strange."
Reports surfaced that a person at the Autumn House was injured by debris when high winds tore the roof off, but officials confirmed that the injury was minor and that the individual is in stable condition. No other injuries were reported.
The Ferndale Department of Public Works and fire crews worked past midnight to clean up the downed trees and power lines. Gacioch confirmed that debris had been moved and roads cleared by 10 a.m. Thursday while DTE worked to restore power to disrupted buildings.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Thunderstorms, winds rip roof off Ferndale building, down power lines
