By Genine Hopkins
A confirmed EF1 tornado (winds up to 95 mph) struck Clare County near Lake George, cutting a 10 mile path down Mannsiding and Old State Roads from the Lake George area to Townline Lake area just before 5 p.m., on Friday, July 5, 2024. The storm downed trees, capsized several boats on Lake George, and had Clare County Fair Mud Bog attendees and participants scrambling for cover at the fairgrounds. Harrison’s tornado siren was executed a couple of minutes after 5 p.m. to seek shelter immediately, as the storm was expected to travel through Harrison and could have possible created a new cell as well. NOAA’s official length of time the tornado was on the ground was 12 miles and the time of touchdown was 4:57 p.m. The storm was traveling at roughly 35 mph with wind gusts of 95 mph inside the tornado (hence the EF1 designation) and the width of the path was 75 yards.
Several local storm chasers were quick to respond to help those in Lake George clear the roadways. One tracker, who preferred to remain anonymous, said they had been tracking the storm all day and as soon as the radar confirmed there was a funnel cloud, they contacted their relatives in Harrison to take cover.
Clare County Commissioner Dale Majewski, who serves the Lake George/Lincoln Township area, said he was very appreciative of all the outpouring of help from both county services and from the general public.
“I was overwhelmed with appreciation by the calls I received from local citizens and businesses asking how they could help,” Majewski said, “Clare Tree Services, numerous area citizens, and of course the Clare County Road Commission and Sheriff’s Department were amazing in getting here quickly. Consumer’s Energy had the area back up and running within 20 hours and were on site within the hour of the storm. This county proved we have heart and help each other.”
Majewski also said that Lincoln Township was lucky in what path the storm actually took, sticking to Old State and Mannsiding instead of hitting Arbor Drive, which would have resulted in the loss of around 20-30 homes or more. After examining the damage from the air, Clare County Emergency Manager Jerry Becker said there were several narrow misses for homes next to the tornado’s path, and it did manage to literally flatten on trailer, whose occupants were luckily visiting relatives in Gladwin when the tornado hit. Becker said the line of damage was headed straight toward Mid Michigan College, but as he put it, “it was a typical Michigan tornado” that kept pulling up and then coming back down, sparing the college any damage.
Becker also said that notice on tornado activity has been getting shorter and shorter between potential for tornados and one actually spawned from a storm cell and touching down.
“Gone are the days when we had a longer notice on potential storm cell activity that could result in tornados,” Becker said, “Our new norm is going to require a much more rapid response.”
Becker also said that notification is imperative to saving lives, but that is a companion story in this week’s edition, so look for that in this week’s paper.
Now for some anecdotal perspective. Personally, I was reporting on the Mud Bog at the Clare County Fairgrounds in Harrison, taking photos and interviewing attendees and some of the drivers when the storm took a turn for the worse, and I grabbed my two grandsons and headed back to our vehicle. As we approached the vehicle the Harrison sirens were executed and we headed quickly toward Shell gas station in town, where we all took cover with others sheltering from the storm inside until we received the “all clear.” For the two very young boys, it was a bit traumatic but we were safe.
