MILAN — Milan had a two-minute tornado Sunday night.
The National Weather Service in Detroit/Pontiac confirmed tornadoes touched down Sunday in Milan and New Haven Township. The Milan tornado, the weather service said, began at 6:51 p.m. and ended at 6:53 p.m. The storm tracked northeast, into a neighborhood along Wabash Street. It traveled a 0.4 mile path.
“The National Weather Service confirmed a category EF-O tornado, with speeds of 65-85 miles per hour,” said Chad Zeunen, interim director of Monroe County Emergency Management. “It was a brief one that touched down in southern Milan, in a small area.”
MCEM and Milan Fire assisted on the scene. No one was hurt. Damage was minimal.
“A couple trees were uproots; some limbs (fell),” Zeunen said. “Shingles on some roofs came ajar. A few fence portions blow over. One tree branch damaged some siding. There was no major damage.”
No one was displaced from homes.
Past tornadoes
Zeunen is unsure when a tornado last touched down in Milan.
Monroe County Emergency Management has a list of significant county tornadoes for Monroe County and surrounding area since 1882.
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Among them is the 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak, which is approaching its 60th anniversary. In 1965, a series of tornadoes were spotted across Monroe, Hillsdale and Lenawee counties. Milan was among the affected areas.
“Twisters tore across Bedford, Erie and Milan townships on the night of April 11, 1965 — Palm Sunday. The tornadoes swept away homes, rolled cars and downed trees and power lines, causing $1.2 million in damage,” according to Monroe News archives. “In Milan, after the storm, officials shut the city down for five hours, not allowing residents in or out with all the downed wires in the area. The storm had downed 23 utility poles, uprooted trees and tore down the chimney of the Milan Junior High School.”
Erie Township also was affected.
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“Erie Township rook the brunt of the devastation as the storm killed two people and injured 29, mostly residents of the Lost Peninsula and McLeary’s Point. 44 fatalities caused by the storm in Michigan with 500 people injured. In Ohio, 53 people died, including one former Monroe resident,” according to The Monroe News. “Cleanup took months as President Lyndon B. Johnson declared Monroe and Lucas counties disaster areas along with nine other Michigan counties. Many in Erie Township continued to clear the debris in the days after the storm, determined to rebuild their homes. Initial reports said 31 of 40 homes were demolished along with 40 damaged or destroyed cars. Another 59 homes were damaged.”
— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at swisler@monroenews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: National Weather Service confirms Sunday tornado in Milan
Reporting by Suzanne Nolan Wisler, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
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