COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – After a chilly April that did not have any severe weather, Mother Nature made up for lost time on Wednesday night as a severe thunderstorm which hit Branch County knocked down trees and caused some power outages.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for Branch County and the surrounding area by the National Weather Service at about 8:50 p.m.. The storm packed lightning, heavy rain and powerful winds. The Branch County Memorial Airport recorded a wind gust of 72 miles an hour at 9:15 p.m..
Trees, limbs and power lines were reported down throughout Coldwater. One knocked down tree blocked Grand Street near Coldwater City Hall.
High water was reported on Jefferson Street in Quincy which is currently under construction. The roof of the greenhouse at the Mejijer store was also blown off.
Classes in the Quincy Community School District had to be delayed for two hours Thursday due to damage on the roof of the district’s bus garage.
Wind gusts as high as 65 miles an hour was reported by a weather spotter near Moscow in Hillsdale County.
Before it hit Branch County, National Weather Service spotters reported power poles were down in Constantine and Mottville due to the string winds. Lightning strikes caused a number of structure fires in Sturgis. Trees were also knocked down in Elkhart County, Indiana where dime sized hail was also reported.
As of 7:00 a.m., Consumer’s Energy reported on its website that over 400 customers in Branch County were without power and that the total restoration was expected late Thursday afternoon. Nearly 500 outages were reported in Hillsdale County while about 180 were out in Saint Joseph County.
