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FRASER — Statistics for the recent Fraser tornado have come out and city officials are happy with the help from residents and other communities.
Jaclyn Anderson, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warning coordination meteorologist from the Detroit/Pontic National Weather Service office, said the tornado was rated a EF0 on the Enhanced Fujita scale which is the lowest severity on the scale.
“It had peak winds of 70 mph, and it was about just shy of two and a half miles long, so 2.4 miles from start to finish,” Anderson said.
She also said the maximum width of the tornado was around 300 to 400 yards. The width was found using damage information from emergency managers. It stayed on the ground for about six minutes.
Anderson said Fraser residents experienced tree damage in a neighborhood north of 14 Mile Road.
“And that’s kind of where the most concentrated damage was,” Anderson said. “There was about 15 to 20 homes that had some shingles blown off their roof.”
She went on to say one home had more severe structural damage due to a tree falling on it.
“A lot of tree damage, some minor home damage especially just shingles and then there was the one home that sustained a tree falling on it that resulted in a little bit more structural damage than some of the other homes,” Anderson said.
Fraser Department of Public Works Superintendent Rob Barrett said all the trees in the right of way have been cleared but he was unsure of private property damage.
He said he is happy with the cleanup and thinks it went well.
“I was quite pleased with everybody working together including the DTE public safety,” Barrett said. “Mutual aid being offered from the other communities. We did end up borrowing Roseville’s chipper truck. It’s just quite impressive seeing all the residents work together, too.”
Barrett said during the second storm which occurred the week of June 23, DTE passed out water and ice at one of the parks in Fraser.
The maximum strength of a tornado is an EF5 which, Anderson said, can cause complete destruction to a city or community. An EF0 can have 65-85 mph winds.
“The Fraser tornado was one of these weak, weak brief tornadoes at the low end of our rating scale,” Anderson said.
No EF5 tornadoes have been recorded in metro Detroit’s history but, Anderson said, the most significant tornado to strike lower Michigan was the 1953 Flint-Beecher tornado. The tornado was rated as a F5, but the Fujita scale has changed over time as more structural and damage information becomes available.
NOAA now uses the Enhanced Fujita scale.
