Harbor Light News

Storms batter area over the weekend

Huge trees downed, power outages, flash flooding in wake of powerful thunderstorms



Major thunderstorms packing powerful wind and torrential rain battered the Little Traverse Bay region on Saturday and early Sunday morning. Pictured top, trees and powerlines were downed in Harbor Springs and throughout the area.(Harbor Light photo/Mark Flemming)

Major thunderstorms packing powerful wind and torrential rain battered the Little Traverse Bay region on Saturday and early Sunday morning. Pictured top, trees and powerlines were downed in Harbor Springs and throughout the area.(Harbor Light photo/Mark Flemming)

Three rounds of severe storms moved through Northern Michigan this past Saturday and Sunday leaving devastation in their wake and many without power for days.

Harbor Springs Electric, Consumers Energy and Great Lakes Energy reported that thousands of customers were left in the dark after the fierce 24 hour period of storms.

In Harbor Springs, downtown and most areas below the bluff managed to keep power, but Lake Street and north customers almost all experienced outages, some for upwards of 10 hours. Crews worked non-stop on Saturday and Sunday to repair downed power lines and remove limbs that created potential hazards.

For the larger energy companies, back up crews were called in from surrounding areas to help with the extensive damage to power lines. Monday afternoon, hundreds of customers were still without power.

In a release on Sunday, Great Lakes Energy reported crews and contractors had restored power to more than 26,000 members since widespread storms moved through the cooperative’s 26-county service area. High winds caused extensive damage to powerlines, trees, and poles.

Above, Harbor Point was among the areas hammered by the storm. (Courtesy photo)

Above, Harbor Point was among the areas hammered by the storm. (Courtesy photo)

The first round of storms began Saturday morning. But it was the second round that packed the largest punch.

“The second round, late Saturday afternoon, was the biggest event and caused the most damage,” Faith Fredrickson, meteorologist at the National Weather Service Gaylord office said. “We had many reports of damage throughout the Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Charlevoix, and Indian River area.”

National Weather Service crews were dispatched early Monday traveling to affected areas in order to analyse storm damage and determine whether or not reports of tornados and other storm events could be verified.

Storm surges mixed with record high water levels, left docks underwater and roads and yards flooded.

“The storm surge was a huge issue,” Mike Johnson, City of Harbor Springs Harbormaster, said. “We raised the dock in front of the office here 18- 20 inches at the beginning of the season and the water still came up over it. The courtesy dock collapsed. And the west docks were completely underwater. It was really scary. In the 42 years that I’ve lived in this town, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Crooked Lake Three rounds of storms blew through the area Saturday and Sunday causing major damage and leaving thousands without power. The quick moving storms left a wake of devastation in their path throughout Harbor Springs, Petoskey, Charlevoix, and Indian River. The National Weather Service in Gaylord dispatched crews on Monday to analyse storm damage and determine whether or not reports of tornados and other storm events could be verified. While these storms have changed the topography of some areas forever, most people are just thankful that more loss was not incurred and human lives were spared. (Photo by Emily Meier)

Crooked Lake Three rounds of storms blew through the area Saturday and Sunday causing major damage and leaving thousands without power. The quick moving storms left a wake of devastation in their path throughout Harbor Springs, Petoskey, Charlevoix, and Indian River. The National Weather Service in Gaylord dispatched crews on Monday to analyse storm damage and determine whether or not reports of tornados and other storm events could be verified. While these storms have changed the topography of some areas forever, most people are just thankful that more loss was not incurred and human lives were spared. (Photo by Emily Meier)

Several boats were pulled from their moorings and ended up beached or on the rocks in Weque.

Mike Graham is the owner of Redline, one of the boats that ended up on the rocks.

Storm damage at his home on Crooked Lake kept him from being able to help rescue his boat. But a crew of good samaritans lept into action and helped tow the boat to safety.

“Right after the storm, I received a call from a friend letting me know Redline was on the beach at Weque. I was at our cottage on Crooked Lake dealing with downed trees blocking our road access and there was nothing I could do,” Graham said. “Luckily, I have great friends in Harbor Springs. I’m still waiting to get her hauled out to assess the damage. My fingers are crossed that we can race this weekend. I’m blessed to be part of such a great community of LTYC sailors. I can’t say enough good things about the group of people who pulled Redline off the shore.”

Quick Road Harbor Springs (Photo courtesy Ashley Wiggins)

Quick Road Harbor Springs (Photo courtesy Ashley Wiggins)

Flooded roads, storm debris, and extensive damage is visible throughout the Harbor Springs, Petoskey, and surrounding areas.

Still, city manager Victor Sinadinoski said Harbor Springs fared well, compared to some cities in the region.

“Most damage in the city itself was relatively minor,” he said. “Our electric crews and Department of Public Works did such an excellent job. All things considered, we feel pretty fortunate.”

In the City of Harbor Springs, the storm caused the following: the courtesy dock will need to be reset; dock boxes at the marina were blown off the dock; a mooring chain snapped. The Sk8 Park also flooded, but left no lasting damage; Bay View Park had a small tree bent in half; Kiwanis Park lost power and had many branches down; City Beach had branches down, as well as wash out east and west of the beach building due to a backed up storm drain; downed power lines; pooled water/flooded roads; tree branches and debri in roads.

Crooked Lake (Harbor Light photo by Emily Meier)

Crooked Lake (Harbor Light photo by Emily Meier)

Harbor Springs Police Chief, Kyle Knight, stressed again gratitude for the efforts of the Harbor Springs Electric and Department of Public Works crews.

“They did such a wonderful job, and have moved from making everything safe again into a debris clean up mode. Much of that work has been done. We had one tree down on a house, and one tree down on a car in the city limits, and we had the washout on West Bluff Drive (see related story).”

Many Petoskey streets were blocked by downed trees Saturday evening and Pennsylvania Park in downtown Petoskey lost many trees and the memorial flag poles were knocked askew.

Many people reported not having enough time to get to a secure location or basement as the storm came up so fast.

Wequetonsing (Harbor Light photo by Mark Flemming)

Wequetonsing (Harbor Light photo by Mark Flemming)

“We all got in the bathtub,” Betsy Hyslop, Wequetonsing resident, said. Others huddled together with family in hallways and even under beds.

Crooked lake saw severe damage and some local residents reported seeing a large funnel cloud. A huge number of old growth trees were ripped out of the ground root bulb and all causing craterlike devastation.

“It was an epic and scary display of nature,” Patrick Farrell of Crooked Lake said.

Many people in the area repeated the sentiment that with so much damage they were thankful there weren’t more severe injuries or worse.

“Words cannot accurately describe the destruction of such natural beauty in such a short period of time,” Beeb Graham said. “We should all be thankful for everything we have and never take anything for granted.”

The sound of chainsaws echoes throughout the area as clean up crews deal with the extensive loss of trees. Some crew members got emotional as they spoke about the loss of so many old growth trees. The destruction and mountain of cleanup left many in awe of the fast moving storm that brought such devastation in such a short period of time.

Crooked Lake (Photo by Emily Meier)

Crooked Lake (Photo by Emily Meier)

“One take away from all of this is to always keep an eye to the sky,” meteorologist Fredrickson said. “A pretty severe storm can roll through very quickly. It’s a scary reminder that even on vacation, you need a plan in place for severe weather. A nice summer day can turn into something dangerous very quickly.”

Wequetonsing (Harbor Light photo by Mark Flemming)

Wequetonsing (Harbor Light photo by Mark Flemming)

Crooked Lake (Photo by Emily Meier)

Crooked Lake (Photo by Emily Meier)

Quick Road Harbor Springs (Photo courtesy Ashley Wiggins)

Quick Road Harbor Springs (Photo courtesy Ashley Wiggins)