It came up quick. A leisurely Thursday evening. Weather warm. Wind calm. The sky darkened. Winds began to swirl. The heavens poured. Citizens were all caught by surprise.
On August 24, 2023, one out of the seven Michigan tornadoes began its rampage through Grand Rapids. This EF-1 tornado appeared out of nowhere, with winds reaching speeds of 110 miles per hour. The destructive whirlwind traveled about 8.7 miles, beginning just north of 6 Mile Road, moving east-northeast, and ending near Rockford High School.
Though Michigan has seen tornadoes in the past, this is one of the most destructive tornados the Northview community has experienced, causing immense damage across the area. Many citizens were affected by the damage, some are still faced with the need to repair.
Junior Murphy Hossink was faced with damages around his house and in his neighborhood after the storm.
“[My family] had tree limbs down in our front yard, our neighbors had a tree go over their driveway and a couple of houses down from us a tree fell right in the road,” Hossink said.
Though the tornado was awfully destructive, it managed to bring neighborhoods together.
After a tree fell, blocking the road, members of Hossink’s neighborhood united to remove the obstruction.
“We ended up having to [move the tree] ourselves because people [tree service] were taking too long,” Hossink said. “People in the neighborhood all helped out.”
While some people were safely surrounded by their homes during the storm, others were trapped outdoors in the treacherous conditions. Junior Addy Venno was on the road when the storm hit.
“I was driving my friend home from [marching] band and we wanted to drive around for a little bit and it started pouring,” Venno said. “I [had to] pull into a parking lot because I could not see where I was going and my car was shaking.”
Aside from uprooted trees and fallen limbs, many peoples’ homes and property were damaged by the fierce whirling winds of the tornado. Sophomore McKayla Brown, and her home, were also impacted.
Brown’s neighborhood, near Pine Island Drive and 7 Mile Road, was hit especially hard by the tornado.
“There were three houses that collapsed in my neighborhood, lots of windows were broken, and lots of trees uprooted,” Brown said. “My neighbor had a ten by ten-foot shed in his backyard and it blew into the front of my house.”
Though members of the community faced financial loss and damages to their homes and property, they managed to power through and rise above.
