Michigan tornadoes strike again; UM Press posts free book excerpt on the storms
This weekend, three tornadoes touched down in southeast Michigan: one in Lenawee County and two in Monroe County, leaving four thousand people in Dundee without power well into Monday.
The University of Michigan Press has posted an excerpt from the new book Extreme Michigan Weather on our site for anyone interested in learning more about Michigan tornadoes. The book, written by WDIV-TV meteorologist Paul Gross (that's the NBC affiliate in Detroit), is due to debut on Father's Day.
"Most people simply don’t understand (or choose to ignore) the tornado threat in Michigan," Gross said Monday, after a day of reporting on the devastation. "But the fact is that tornadoes DO happen here and, as we saw this past weekend, they sometimes strike with devastating violence.
"As I reported live in Dundee for WDIV-TV, I was stunned by the destruction, and by the widespread nature of the damage. At its widest, the Dundee tornado was 800 yards wide with 130-135 mph winds, so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, but one never "gets used to" these images.
"The tornado chapter in my book explains in great detail how and why tornadoes happen, shows statistics that are guaranteed to convince you that Michigan’s tornado threat is real, and provides safety tips so you and your family can make your own safety plan at home or work."
The excerpt has been posted in our Open Text Format, meaning that visitors can leave comments on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis. So go take a look at Extreme Michigan Weather, and tell us and Paul what you think!
