By RICK CALLAHAN and BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI Associated Press
Severe thunderstorms that may have spawned a rare February tornado outbreak toppled trees, cut power and damaged homes in the Chicago area and other parts of the Great Lakes following a spell of summerlike, sometimes record temperatures.
In Michigan’s Grand Blanc Township, near Flint, winds damaged subdivisions, tore up trees and uprooted gas lines in the wee hours of Wednesday. Police officers said they saw a tornado, but weather authorities have yet to confirm that.
Police and firefighters moved residents in an area of gas leaks to a firehouse, and they were allowed to return when a utility made repairs, authorities said.
“There are still numerous reports of wires down in the area,” police said. “While there is significant damage to houses in the area, no one was hurt.”
More than 100 miles to the southwest, a possible tornado damaged homes and barns and knocked down trees and power lines in Calhoun County’s Lee Township, the sheriff’s office said on Facebook. Crews cleared roads for rescue teams, but no injuries were reported.
Warning sirens jolted residents of central Ohio awake as a possible tornado hit near Columbus. Significant damage was reported at an airport in Madison County, between Dayton and Columbus. Toppled trees closed roads in the area until debris could be cleared.
At one point, over 50,000 customers in Ohio and Michigan lacked power Wednesday, according to PowerOutage.us.
In Geneva, in Chicago’s western suburbs, storms Tuesday evening uprooted trees and left some homes with broken windows and shorn-off doors, said Fire Chief Mike Antenore.
Geneva resident Rebecca Harrington said the storm “cycloned” into her home and collapsed its foyer area.
“The back of my house is sort of hanging off,” Harrington told WGN-TV, which reported no injuries.
The storms followed unusual warmth across Illinois in recent days, the National Weather Service office said. They were followed Wednesday by a return to winter weather, with snow and temperatures in the 20s.
If a tornado is confirmed in Grand Blanc Township, it would be only the second February tornado for that part of Michigan since recordkeeping began in 1950, following one in Wayne County on Feb. 28, 1974, said meteorologist Dave Kook, of the weather service’s Detroit office.
The warm weather and severe storms, including hail up to an inch (2.5 centimeters) in diameter, on Tuesday and Wednesday are unusual for the area this time of the year, Kook said.
“This is not typical of late February by any means,” he said. “Basically, it’s kind of a month ahead of schedule for southeast Michigan.”
The weather service office that covers southwestern and central Ohio has recorded winter tornadoes almost every year since 2012.
Weather service teams will conduct surveys to confirm tornado reports around the region. ___
Associated Press writers Sarah Brumfield and Corey Williams contributed to this report.
