Anniversary of deadly I-96 tornado highlights climate concerns

WINCHESTER. HELP ME! HANK! I'M GOING TO HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW COMING UP IN MY SCAM ALERT. >> SO IF YOU'VE DRIVEN ALONG I-96 TO OR FROM LANSING OVER THE LAST YEAR, YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED THE DAMAGE THAT IS STILL THERE ALONG THE FREEWAY FROM LAST YEAR'S DEADLY TORNADO. >> TOMORROW, IN FACT, MARKS THE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY ASHLEE BARACY TAKES US BACK TO THAT NIGHT AND SHOWS US HOW THIS ONE EVENT IS PART OF A MUCH LARGER STORY REGARDING OUR CLIMATE. >> I'M PRETTY SURE THAT'S STILL A PART. WE HAVEN'T GOT ALL OF IT OUT YET. WE'RE STILL WORK IN PROGRESS. >> ONE YEAR LATER AND A LOOK AT BRANDON LANG'S YARD IN FOWLERVILLE TAKES HIM BACK. LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY. >> WE WERE ON THE COUCH, AND THEN WE GOT A COUPLE OF NEWS. ALERTS ON OUR PHONE. AND THEN MY WIFE'S DAD SAID TORNADOES TOUCHED DOWN IN WEBBERVILLE. AND IT'S COMING. YOUR WAY. >> AN EF TWO TORNADO WITH PEAK WINDS OF 125MPH, DEVELOPED RIGHT HERE IN THESE OPEN FIELDS OF NORTHEAST INGHAM COUNTY BEFORE MAKING A DANGEROUS TRACK TOWARDS I-96. LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK. THE TORNADO MOVED NORTHEAST FROM WILLIAMSTON ONTO THE FREEWAY, WHERE IT REMAINED ON I-96 FOR ABOUT A MILE AND A HALF BEFORE TURNING SOUTHEAST, SNAPPING TREES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE FREEWAY. SO WE WANTED TO TAKE YOU ALONG THAT PATH SO YOU COULD SEE IT FOR YOURSELF ONE YEAR LATER, AND THE DESTRUCTION IS STILL UNDENIABLE. IN FACT, 12 MILES WERE TOUCHED BY THIS TORNADO WHEN BRANDON KNEW IT WAS HEADING TOWARDS HIS HOME, HE MOVED HIS FAMILY INTO THE CRAWL SPACE. >> AND THEN IT GOT SUPER QUIET. AND THEN I WAS LIKE, OKAY, I THINK IT'S DONE. SO I GOT MY HEAD OUT OF THE CRAWL SPACE, WENT OUTSIDE, I OPENED THE DOOR. BY THE TIME I OPENED THE DOOR, IT WAS FULL BLAST AGAIN. I SHUT THE DOOR. I GOT BACK IN THE CRAWL SPACE, BUT AFTER IT WAS ALL SAID AND DONE, WALKING OUTSIDE WAS PRETTY WILD TO SEE ALL THE TREES AND EVERYTHING. WE WORKED HARD FOR THE POOL AND THE TRAMPOLINES AND ALL MY KIDS STUFF THAT WERE HERE. THE PLAY STRUCTURES ARE ALL DESTROYED AND IT'S LIKE, WHAT DO YOU, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO YOU DO AFTER A LOT OF WORK? >> THIS IS WHAT HIS FAMILY'S YARD LOOKS LIKE TODAY. A LOT OF TREES HAVE SINCE BEEN CLEARED, BUT THE PILE OF THEM THAT REMAINS OUT BACK IS A VISUAL REMINDER OF NOT ONLY THAT TORNADO, BUT AN EVEN BIGGER STORY FROM THAT NIGHT. FOR STARTERS, AUGUST 24TH, 2023 MARKED THE MOST TORNADOES IN A SINGLE DAY DURING THE MONTH OF AUGUST IN SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN. SIX IN OUR REGION ALONE WITH SEVEN TORNADOES STATEWIDE. AND WHILE THE NATION'S TORNADO COUNT OFTEN PEAKS IN SPRING BECAUSE OF TEMPERATURE PATTERNS AND JET STREAM MIGRATION, THERE REALLY ISN'T A TORNADO SEASON PER SE. THERE IS ONLY ONE MONTH THAT SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN HAS NOT HAD A RECORDED TORNADO, WHICH IS JANUARY. AND ALTHOUGH JUNE IS STILL THE MOST ACTIVE MONTH, MAY AND AUGUST ARE NEARLY TIED FOR SECOND, MEANING WE TAKE A LITTLE DIP IN JULY AND USUALLY SEE AN UPTICK IN TORNADIC ACTIVITY THIS MONTH. WE CAN ALSO BREAK DOWN WHEN WE SEE THE MOST TORNADOES BY THE TIME OF DAY. NO SURPRISE THAT THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HAS THE MOST ACTIVITY SINCE THAT USUALLY IS THE WARMEST PART OF THE DAY. BUT A BIGGER STORY IS HOW TORNADO ALLEY LOOKS TO BE SHIFTING. THE LARGEST INCREASE IN TORNADOES HAS BEEN FROM WESTERN KENTUCKY AND THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY TO MISSISSIPPI AND LOUISIANA. PRETTY MUCH TORNADO ALLEY TO DIXIE ALLEY. SO ALTHOUGH THAT DOESN'T HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON THOSE OF US IN MICHIGAN, AS WE LOOK BACK TO AUGUST 24TH, THAT WAS A HISTORIC DAY ACROSS SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN AND FOWLERVILLE WASN'T THE ONLY COMMUNITY AFFECTED. ALL RIGHT, ASHLEY, THE OTHER FIVE COMMUNITIES ACROSS SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN HIT BY THE TORNADOES INCLUDED CANTON, BELLEVILLE, NEWPORT, SOUTH, ROCKWOOD, AND GIBRALTAR. >> THIS YEAR, WE HAVE NOT HAD A SINGLE TORNADO ACROSS SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN IN