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No tornado, no major flooding

Alpena area avoids much of storm’s wrath

ALPENA — For as violent as Tuesday night’s thunderstorms were forecasted to be, they mostly died out before they could do much damage in Northeast Michigan.

Despite a warning issued Tuesday night for Alpena County, and though weak tornadoes did touch down in Antrim and Ogemaw counties, the National Weather Service in Gaylord said Wednesday that no tornado touched down in Alpena County. And the Alpena region may not have even seen enough rainfall to pull the area out of a “moderate drought” status.

Although there were watches and warnings issued for severe weather — including heavy rain, flooding, severe thunderstorms and tornadic activity — when the systems passed the region, there was little impact from them.

The NWS issued a flood watch for Northeast Michigan early Tuesday, calling for the potential of two to four inches of rain. Actual downfall only added up to about an inch at Alpena County Regional Airport when the storms were passed.

Later Tuesday, a severe thunderstorm watch was issued, which was followed by a tornado warning at about 9 p.m. The Weather Service said a storm with circulation had developed in the southwest part of Alpena County. The NWS said Wednesday, however, that no tornado touched down in Alpena County and there were no reports of damage from the area where the circulation occurred.

The system moved from just south of Hillman and north of Hubbard Lake and headed east toward Ossineke Township.

“The reports we got from Alpena was that there little to no damage,” NWS Meterorologist Mike Boguth said. “The most damage happened in Au Gres and off to the west of Alpena.”

Weather enthusiasts were treated to a lengthy lightning display and the thunder roared across most of Northeast Michigan, followed by heavy rain, which eased as the early morning hours neared.

According to the NWS in Gaylord, a line of severe thunderstorms made their way off of Lake Michigan and moved east across the state. The west and north-central part of the state absorbed the most damage, but the Alpena area was mostly unscathed.

Boguth said that, when the storms rolled off of Lake Michigan, they were powerful and packed with energy. By the time they made it to Northeast Michigan, they had weakened significantly for several reasons, he said.

“They lost their juice and had nothing to feed off of to re-strengthen,” he said. “By the time they reached Alpena, they were really moving fast compared to what they were earlier and that cut down on the rain amounts that were forecasted for.”

The Alpena area has seen an uptick in the amount of rain it has received compared to a good portion of the summer. Currently, the area is in “a D-1,” moderate drought, and the precipitation could help.

Boguth said the new drought monitoring report comes out today, but he expects it will be the same as it has been for weeks, despite the rain.

“I don’t think this is going to make a big difference and get us all the way out of drought, he said. “It is going to help, though.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com or 989-358-5689. Follow Steve on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.

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