Tornado? Or Not?

Fallen Tree 

While at home in Michigan for the Labor Day weekend, there were three things I wanted to accomplish (besides visit with family) The first was go out on the boat, the second to enjoy a good old fashioned thunder storm, and the third was to visit the biggest Christmas store in the world.
Well, the thunderstorm did happen, although it got a little rougher than I was hoping. We'd been on the boat all afternoon, but decided to call it a day when some dark ominous clouds presented themselves on the horizon to the west. We'd been home for about an hour, and I'd just made a cup of coffee, when the thunder began. My dad and I opened some windows that faced north so we could look out and really take in the storm.

Top of tree on cottage

It happened so quickly it's a little hard to remember exactly what happened. It started pouring rain. Not gently but buckets. Then it the wind picked up and it was raining horizontally, from north to south right through the windows. And then it began to hail. It was then that Dad gathered us all together and we rushed downstairs. As we looked out the windows, the siding on the side of the building began flapping, and all sorts of things were being banged around outside. The boat that we'd just been on, was pushed by the wind on it's trailer about 8 to 10 feet away from the truck where it had been disconnected. The storm was really something to behold. The whole thing was over in about five minutes. It continued to rain and thunder, but not like before. We went outside to take a look around and noticed that some of the shingles on the roof were lifted a little, and that the fence on the side of the dumpster had blown down. Several fire trucks and other emergency response vehicles zoomed by, most of them going down the streets just behind us.

Tree on camper

Afterward we went to check on my grandmother and uncle, and saw the downed trees, including one that fell on a cottage, that littered the neighborhood. Thankfully no one was hurt. The storm and the damage was limited to about a quarter mile around where we were. I don't know for sure if it was a tornado, but it was definitely the closest thing to one I have ever experienced.