Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Residents and business owners are assessing damage and trying to clean up in the aftermath of Thursday’s devastating hail storm.

The storm rolled through in the late afternoon and brought rain, torrential downpours, lightning, and hail larger than golf balls and ping-pong balls.

The National Weather Service has confirmed that an EF-1 tornado did touch down in Frenchtown Township, in the vicinity of the Detroit Beach. The tornado was on the ground for about 5 miles, with maximum wind gusts peaking at 90mph.

In Livingston County, 2-inch hail reported in Pinckney and Gregory areas.

Dozens of listeners sent in photos of damage from across the county, with many saying they’ve never seen anything like it.

Piles of hail looked like snowfall and blanketed yards and decks, while leaves, branches and debris were strewn about everywhere. Some still had piles of hail on their doorsteps Friday.

The hail damaged homes, vehicles, and other property while destroying gardens and crops. It dented vehicles and shattered windshields while making huge holes in the siding of some homes. Anyone impacted is advised to contact their insurance carriers and document any and all damage.

Meanwhile, some local farmers and others had their crops and gardens completely wiped out during the unexpected hail storm after weeks of extremely dry conditions.

Several farms reported damage including the Shafer Family Farm in Webberville and Bentley Lake Farms in Howell. The latter had their entire fields completely wiped out and they’ll have to start rebuilding. Owner CJ Turner told WHMI they lost all of their strawberry, potato, pumpkin, onion, pepper, cucumber and squash crops and in his 45 years of farming, he’s never seen anything like this.

The rain and hail storm followed a lengthy dry spell that had already withered crops, sparked grassfires and wildfires, and prompted burn bans.