HOWELL, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Howell Nature Center was closed Friday for extensive damage after a storm rolled through Thursday night.
The staff say the welcome center and gift shop were flooded, and every car on site took a beating.
The Howell Nature Center is a place where families can typically come to get a closer look at some of their favorite animals, but that was put on pause Friday.
Fans were going inside the nature center after 2 to 3 inches of water entered the building during Thursday night’s hailstorm.
Staff at the nature center spent the day Friday cleaning up and drying out.
Howell Nature Center CEO Tina Bruce says it started as a regular thunderstorm and quickly escalated to a heavy hailstorm.
"It started raining, got a little bit heavier and all of a sudden, we started seeing the hail start coming down," Bruce said. "It started kind of small and as it progressed, it just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger. Before I knew it, I had five people in my office and we opened the doorwall that is in my office, and we're picking up hail that was about the size of a golf ball."
The staff say the entire property is covered in leaves shaken from trees. Many of their pine trees are missing most of their needles.
The staff says the hail was so strong it also damaged all of the staff vehicle on site, smashing several windshields and totaling at least one car.
No one was hurt and all of the animals are safe.
"Completely in awe. None of us here have ever seen anything like this. And we're just really amazed at what Mother Nature can do for us. Little did we think about the damage it was doing all at the same time," Bruce said.
The staff say they’re planning to reopen the park Saturday, but there’s not an exact date for the reopen of the welcome center.
Flooring and some walls will likely need to be ripped out.
