Screen Shot from Video Posted by Ben M. Hannon
Manitowoc County’s Emergency Services Director is explaining what happened after a sudden tornado touched down near Branch over the weekend.
Some residents expressed concern to the county after the brief storm because tornado sirens didn’t go off like they would during a major storm.
Emergency Department Director Rhonda Green tells SeehaferNews.com that neither her department nor the Manitowoc County Joint Dispatch Center received a tornado warning from the National Weather Service that day.
They learned about the tornado through calls from the public and by contacting NOAA.
“They were unaware initially that there was a tornado,” she noted. “But when they started looking at things, they did see rotation. And they were apologetic, and they said, This is one of those really weird pop-up tornadoes that didn’t even show up on the radar.”
Green says NOAA has been conducting fieldwork and will classify what happened in Branch as a tornado that touched down, after it was initially reported to be just a funnel cloud.
However, she admitted, “They don’t have all the data yet from the satellite imagery and other things that they need to classify what type of tornado.”
The warm air from the storm appears to have mixed with the cool air from Lake Michigan, causing the brief tornado.
The emergency services manager reports that most of the damage appears to be in a field, but there is also some minor property damage.
Green says if there were an actual tornado warning with a tornado that touched the ground, the Manitowoc County Emergency Management Services Department would be making calls to sheltering agencies to get people help.
“Your Red Cross, your Salvation Army, possibly United Way.” she noted. “They would want to be involved to get the folks who have possibly been displaced from their homes some sheltering, some food tickets and things like that to help them out and get them through the process.”
There were also videos and pictures taken of the funnel coming down.
Green explains. “Definitely don’t get near those things to take your videos and post. Drive the opposite direction and if you can’t get away fast enough, try to find somewhere where it’s flat. Get out (of your car) and lay flat as you can.”
More information about emergency preparedness can be found on the emergency department page of ManitowocCountyWI.gov.
