Comstock Park neighborhood marks one year since tornado with block party

MICHAEL AVENUE. HE'S NOT BEEN HEARD FROM OR SEEN SENSE. TODAY MARKS ONE YEAR SINCE AN EF ONE TORNADO RIPPED THROUGH AREAS NORTH OF GRAND RAPIDS. YOU MAY REMEMBER WE WERE TRACKING IT LIVE WARNING YOU TO WHAT WAS GOING ON OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW >> IT REALLY JUST RELAX. YOU WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE. TURN IT >> OUR CREWS WERE SPREAD OUT ACROSS THE AREA SHOWING YOU HUNDREDS OF DOWNED AND UPROOTED TREES ALONG ALPINE AVENUE AND PINE ISLAND DRIVE. WE TAKE YOU BACK TO THAT SAME AREA FOR MONTHS LATER AND TALKED WITH A MAN WHO STILL COULDN'T GET BACK INTO HIS HOME BECAUSE OF THE DESTRUCTION TONIGHT, ELLEN WILL FOLLOW THAT STORM'S PATH AND WALK US THROUGH WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR. BUT FIRST, LET'S GET TO ADRIANA DORIA AFTER TALKING WITH PEOPLE, MOST IMPACTED BY THE STORM. ADRIANNA AMANDA, THE SCENE IS MUCH DIFFERENT IN COMSTOCK PARK. THEN WE SAW EXACTLY ONE YEAR AGO TODAY. BACK THEN FOR HOMES WERE COMPLETELY LEFT UNLIVABLE AND NEIGHBORS. TELL ME. >> IT HAS BEEN AS LATE AS A FEW WEEKS AGO WHEN THE LAST FAMILY WAS ACTUALLY ABLE TO MOVE BACK IN BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE DAMAGE AND IT'S STILL NOT OVER YET BUT NEIGHBORS. THEY'RE JUST GRATEFUL TO BE ALIVE TODAY AND ALL CAME TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE HOW FAR THEY'VE COME. >> IT'S BEEN A YEAR IN YEAR 8.21, I BELIEVE IS WHEN THE TORNADO CAME THROUGH. AUGUST 24TH 2023 THE NIGHT THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING. IT'S UNREAL AND NOW. AND WE WE MADE EF ONE TORNADO TOUCHING DOWN NORTH OF GRAND RAPIDS, DAMAGING HOMES AND BUSINESSES ALL ACROSS THE AREA LEAVING NEIGHBORS WITH A LONG JOURNEY AHEAD BASICALLY CAME DOWN 7 MILES AND THEN JUST CAME RIGHT INTO OUR DEVELOPMENT AND HERE ARE THE HOUSES. BUT ON THE ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY RESIDENTS IN COMSTOCK PARK DECIDED TO FLIP THE SCRIPT. REFLECTING ON THAT TERRIFYING DAY. BUT DOING IT IN A MORE FUN WAY. WE ALL MADE IT THROUGH. >> THIS PARTY JUST SIGNIFIES THE FACT THAT WE'LL HEAR MORE TOGETHER AND WE GET TO MOVE ON BARBECUE. >> ABOUT HOUSES. FIRE HOSES AND ALL SMILES AS COMSTOCK PARK RESIDENTS HELD A BLOCK PARTY TO CELEBRATE BEING TOGETHER AND MAKING IT OUT ON THE OTHER SIDE. MOVED HERE IN APRIL OF LAST YEAR. >> AND IT WAS REALLY AFTER THE STORM TO SEE EVERYONE COME OUT AND LIKE HELP EACH OTHER IN THE CLEANUP. ONLY MOMENTS AFTER THE TORNADO PASSED. IT WAS REALLY LIKE A TESTAMENT LIKE WE'RE MEANT TO BE HERE. THIS IS WE'RE HERE FOR A PURPOSE. THIS COMMUNITY IS REALLY AWESOME. EVEN ONE YEAR LATER, MANY OF THESE NEIGHBORS ARE STILL FEELING THE EFFECTS OF THAT NIGHT TRYING TO PICK UP THE PIECES. >> THANKFUL THE SITUATION WAS NOT WORSE. SO THAT'S KIND OF A WIDE RANGE OF THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED. >> OVER THE YEAR. BUT THE NICE THING IS, IS THAT THIS NEIGHBORHOOD REALLY CAME TOGETHER AND PEOPLE GOT CLOSER. SO IT WAS GREAT, GREAT EXPERIENCE OUT OF A BAD EXPERIENCE AND NOW THAT NIGHT AS A REMINDER WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN AND PREPARING THEM FOR WHAT COULD HAPPEN AGAIN. THERE'S PTSD. >> I MEAN, WHEN THOSE SIRENS GO OFF AND THE SKIES GET DARK. YOU REALLY REALIZE, HEY, THERE'S SOMETHING REAL INSTEAD OF BEING A TRUE MICHIGANDER AND COMING OUT LOOKING UP AT THE SKY. WE TAKE COVER NOW BECAUSE IT'S REAL. IT CAN HAPPEN IN COMSTOCK PARK. ADRIANNA DORIA NEWS 8. >> STORM TEAM 8 CHIEF METEOROLOGIST ELLEN BACCA ALSO TRACK THINGS THAT EVENING AND WAS QUITE PREGNANT AT THE TIME, TOO. ALLAN, WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE SPEED BEHIND THIS TORNADO. YEAH, THIS WAS A REALLY MEMORABLE EVENTS. I REMEMBER IT VERY CLEARLY BECAUSE I WAS 39 WEEKS PREGNANT. SO GRATEFUL THAT METEOROLOGIST SARA FLYNN AND LAKE ARMS ARE IN HERE IN THE TRACKING CENTER WITH ME BECAUSE THIS WAS AN IMPACTFUL SYSTEM. >> AND THIS TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUNDS FOR A PRETTY DECENT PATH. HERE ARE THE SPECS, THE TIME THE TORNADO TOUCHDOWN IS 08:15PM IN THE EVENING OFFICIALLY COMING IN AT ITS STRONGEST IS AN EF ONE ESTIMATED WINDS AT PEAK INTENSITY. 110 MILES PER HOUR. AND THE PATH LINK WAS JUST ABOUT 9 MILES ON THE NORTH SIDE OF GRAND RAPIDS. THIS CUT ACROSS ONE 31 BASICALLY TOUCHING DOWN JUST ON THE NORTH SIDE OF WALKER AND THEN WRAPPING UP IN ROCKFORD. MAXIMUM WITH 100 YARDS IS ACTUALLY NOT THAT WIDE WHEN IT COMES TO A TORNADO DAMAGE PATH. SOMETIMES THEY CAN BE MANY HUNDREDS OF YARDS WIDE. BUT THIS 1, 1, 100 YARDS WIDE 0 DEATHS. 0 INJURIES FOR THAT. WE ARE INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL. HERE ARE A FEW KEY POINTS ALONG THE DAMAGE PATH LINE TOUCHING DOWN AT 6 MILE PEACH RIDGE AVENUE AT 70 MILES PER HOUR. THAT WAS THE FIRST INDICATION OF DAMAGE. NOTICE A TORNADO ACTUALLY WEAKEN SLIGHTLY A PULSE DOWN AS IT MOVED ACROSS 6 MILE IN BRISTOL AVENUE, THEN STRENGTHENING TO EF ONE STRENGTH BETWEEN 6 MILE AND 7 MILE AS IT CROSSED OUT, PINE AVENUE NORTHWEST CONTINUING EF ONE INTENSITY OVER PINE ISLAND DRIVE AND THEN AS WE CONTINUE THIS TORNADOES PATH NORTHEAST OF BELMONT DECREASING INTO THE 90 MILE PER HOUR RANGE. FINALLY FINISHING AT A 75 MILE PER HOUR WIND STRENGTH THAT. AND RIGHT ABOUT A HALF A MILE FROM ROCKFORD HIGH SCHOOL, VERY, VERY CLOSE TO A VERY DIFFERENT STORY FOR ROCKFORD HIGH LIVE LOOK OUTSIDE TONIGHT AND TOTALLY DIFFERENT STORY. BEAUTIFUL CONDITIONS, QUIET. THE NEXT THING THAT WE ARE GOING TO TRACK IS THE HEAT.