Michigan
March 17th marks the beginning of Michigan’s Severe Weather Awareness week
SAGINAW, Mich. (WNEM) – March 17th kicks off Severe Weather Awareness week in Michigan.
In Mid-Michigan, the Thomas Township Fire Department is partnering with the Saginaw County Emergency Manager and National Weather Service to host a Skywarn training class, completely free and open to the public.
“In the past years, we’ve dealt with severe weather at least a couple times a year, whether it’s the strong winds events or severe thunderstorms, tornado warnings or even with the winter weather,” said Brandon Rossi, Assistant Fire Chief at the Thomas Township Fire Department.
You might be wondering what does Skywarn storm spotting, or Skywarn, even mean. To learn more, we asked Rich Pollman, lead meteorologist at the Detroit National Weather Service office.
“We use the Skywarn spotters for a lot of different ways to help our warning operations,” said Pollman. “The Skywarn spotter will help us determine what is happening at the ground. Maybe we get a spotter report in Saginaw County, yeah we already have a warning out, but that spotter report gives us the confidence to issue the warning to Tuscola County.”
He adds the training is open to all ages, especially if you have an interest in weather and want to help report severe events.
“In the Skywarn training, we’re going to cover a little bit of what happened last year across Southeast Michigan with our severe weather, some weather safety, formation of storms, some of the characteristics to look for, whether it’s the shelf cloud or the wall cloud that may lead to different types of severe weather,” Pollmand said. “And then, we’ll also talk about how to report that information to the national weather service so we can get those accurate and timely warnings.”
Speaking of weather safety, Thomas Township Assistant Fire Chief Brandon Rossi gave us some tips on what to do if you find yourself in danger of an event like a tornado.
“The best thing is to prepare,” Rossi said. “Just like fire drills in schools, you want to do drills in your home. You also want to do a severe weather drill in your home. You know, it could be during dinner, you say hey, there’s a tornado warning. What do we do? Everybody goes to the basement. If you don’t have a basement, you go to the most interior room of your house, which could be a bathroom, it could be a closet, anything without a lot of windows is where you want to be and at the lowest level that you possibly can be. Having a standby generator is a great thing to make sure that you can still have heat in your house and your refrigerator still works and you still have food, but also having stocks of non-perishable foods that you can eat is going to be huge—no matter what the weather event is going to be.”
Rossia says the goal of this week is all about making sure people are prepared and educated.
“To know what warning means versus what a watch means and what advisories mean and that way you know what’s coming your way so you can be prepared,” said Rossi.
You can attend the Skywarn training on Thursday, Mar. 21 at seven p.m.
Copyright 2024 WNEM. All rights reserved.
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A man in Michigan who got married and then ran over his best friend that same day, killing him, after an alcohol-fueled argument was sentenced Monday to least 30 years in prison.
“The only thing I can do for the rest of my life is express my apology and remorse. … I will forever be sorry,” James Shirah said in Genesee County court.
Shirah, 24, was driving when his vehicle struck Terry Taylor Jr. in Flint, about an hour’s drive northwest of Detroit, on Aug. 30, 2024. He and Savanah Collier were married earlier that day and the celebration had moved to a house.
Shirah’s attorney had argued that the crash was not intentional. Prosecutors, however, said Shirah had left the scene and had time to reflect before returning and striking Taylor, MLive.com reported.
“Mr. Shirah, I believe that you are not a criminal. You are, however, a killer,” Judge Khary Hanible said.
In April, Shirah pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and other offenses. He will be eligible for parole after 30 years.
“I hope that they throw the book at you,” Taylor’s cousin, Eren Taylor, said before Shirah received his sentence.
Shirah’s wife will be sentenced later in May for being an accessory.
BENTON HARBOR — Vinyl collectors and music fans are invited to dig through thousands of records and music collectibles at the Southwest Michigan Record Show.
The event is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 16 at Grand Upton Hall inside Lake Michigan College’s Mendel Center in Benton Harbor, according to a press release.
Now in its fourth season, the show features 25 vendors from five states, offering 70 tables filled with vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, record supplies and music memorabilia.
Free admission begins at 10 a.m.
General admission is free starting at 10 a.m., while early entry is available at 8:30 a.m. for $5. Door prize drawings are planned for 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., including $25 shopping certificates and record supplies from BCW Supplies. The first 75 attendees will receive free tote bags.
A food truck will be on site, and cash is preferred for purchases. Some vendors may accept cards, PayPal, Venmo and other payment methods, but there is no ATM on site.
Vendors from across the Midwest and beyond
The show is expected to feature a wide selection of music genres, including classic rock, pop, ’80s, metal, punk, jazz, blues, R&B, country and soundtracks.
“This show is still being discovered, and that’s part of what makes it exciting,” event organizer Jeremy D. Bonfiglio said in the release. “We’ve built a strong group of experienced vendors, so whether you’re just getting into vinyl or digging for something rare, there’s a real opportunity here to find something unexpected.”
Free parking is available near the entrance of Mendel Center, 2755 Napier Ave.
Future dates planned
The Southwest Michigan Record Show is also scheduled to return Sept. 19.
For more information, visit southwestmichiganrecordshow.com or follow the event on Facebook.
This story was created by reporter Cheryl Morey, with the assistance of artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing.
ALGOMA TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The spirit of curling is one of friendship.
While memory of the Winter Olympics may have long melted away in the minds of many Americans, there some whose curiousness for the sport of curling has extended all the way into the springtime.
“Everybody’s having fun,” said Paul Curran, league manager for the Grand Rapids Curling Club. “It’s a really weird sport in that it’s really friendly.”
The club, which plays at the Cedar Rock Sportsplex in Algoma Township, has seen a recent spike in interest in its beginners leagues and learn to curl classes.
“We’re all here to curl and learn,” said beginner Aaron Schwieterman. “Everyone’s making mistakes, but still having a great time learning the sport and trying to mimic what the professionals do at the Olympics.”
“I recommend it to anybody who wants to try something different,” said beginner Margaret Steketee. “If I can do it, anybody can do it.”
For a period of time on the ice, these newcomers to the sport turn into competitors. Then, at the conclusions of their games, they revert to being friends.
“Largely, what you’ll find with curlers is that when they’re done curling, they want to be friendly and hang out,” Curran said. “Which is what our league is doing right now.”
As long as people are interested, Curran says the club will continue to put on beginners leagues and lessons.
“The more people we get out here curling, the better,” he said.
For more information on ways to play and learn how to curl in West Michigan, visit the Grand Rapids Curling Club’s website.
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