Possible tornado causes damage in Canton as high winds hit area

CANTON, Mich. - Unseasonably warm weather and rain led to high winds causing damage in metro Detroit area including a possible tornado.

The weather event hit Canton at about 7 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Joy Road and Lilley in Canton. 

The damage to three buildings was reported in the area of Joy Road and Lilley in Canton, while pockets of power outages happened around the area. Some homeowners in the area have also reported damage and trees down.

Canton police said some sort of "weather phenomena" caused heavy property damage but no reports of injuries. The National Weather Service will be in the area Thursday to determine the nature of the high winds.

At about 10:30 p.m. Lilley Road reopened.

Canton Fire Chief Joshua Meier said police and fire responded on different calls in the area.

"At 6:52 this evening, our police department was called for a burglar alarm, we were also called for a tree down," Meier said. "When police arrived at the scene we noticed extensive damage to a building here. Fire crews were also dispatched. We are in the process of searching those buildings right now.

"We have three buildings damaged at this time. Two commercial buildings and one industrial occupancy building."

Police and fire departments will be using K-9 units to search the area for victims as a precaution, he said.

Nearby Mettetal Airport was closed due to the weather, which featured gusts of about 50 miles per hour.

Two 1965 Mustangs in the area were damaged in the storm.

Residents in the area say they heard no warning, no horn beforehand, reports Ron Savage.

Meier said that his department did not get a warning either, saying there was a rainfall advisory only.

According to DTE Energy, the heaviest outage is between 500 and 1,500 customers were without service along 13 Mile Road between Drake and Halsted in Farmington Hills.

CLICK HERE for a power outage map from DTE.

Wires were reported down in the area of Ogden and Kirkwood in Detroit.

On the east side, Detroit Fire Department's Engine Company 41 was sidelined after a power outage. Workers there could not get the bay door open Wednesday night with no manual way to open it. DTE Energy is at the scene.