1997 Southeast Michigan tornado outbreak

Last updated
1997 Southeast Michigan tornado outbreak
DurationJuly 1–3, 1997
Highest winds
Tornadoes
confirmed		52 confirmed
(Record for a continuous outbreak in July)
Max. rating1 F3 tornado
Duration of
tornado outbreak2		~Three days
Fatalities2 fatalities (+5 non-tornadic), 100 injuries
Damage$135 million (1997 USD)
$230 million (2021 USD)
Areas affected Midwest, Great Lakes
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale
2Time from first tornado to last tornado

A destructive tornado outbreak occurred on July 2, 1997, in the built-up area of Detroit, Michigan. There were 13 tornadoes in total, 3 dragged through neighborhoods and downtown, hitting northern Detroit between I-96 and Eight Mile Road, Hamtramck and Highland Park. [1] The storms killed 7, caused local flooding, and destroyed houses. 5 of the fatalities were recorded in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, due to straight-line winds of up to 100 mph that blew a gazebo full of people into Lake St. Clair. [2] One tornado formed east of the Detroit River, in Essex County, Ontario, near Windsor, Ontario and caused damage in Windsor and Essex County. The strongest tornado was listed as an F3. [3]

Contents

Confirmed tornadoes

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating
FUF0F1F2F3F4F5Total
01326940052

July 1 event

F# LocationCountyTime (UTC)Path lengthDamage
Kansas
F1E of Woodlawn Nemaha 10152 miles
(3.2 km)		Four barns and a machine shed were destroyed, and a hay wagon was tossed some distance into a field.
Minnesota
F1SE of Glenwood Pope 21350.1 miles
(0.16 km)
F1 Willmar area Kandiyohi 22451 miles
(1.6 km)		A warehouse was destroyed and the roof of a motel was damaged.
F1SW of Spicer Candiyohi 22502 miles
(3.2 km)		Cabins and boat docks were damaged.
F0W of Mentor Polk 23070.2 miles
(0.32 km)
F0SE of Crow River Meeker 23150.5 miles
(0.8 km)		Caused damage to trees.
F0W of Dassel Meeker 23353 miles
(4.8 km)		One barn was damaged and a tree was blown into a house.
F0SW of Terrebonne Red Lake 23400.2 miles
(0.32 km)
F3E of Rassat Wright 23435 miles
(8 km)		One home was completely destroyed.
F1W of Waverly Wright 00001 miles
(1.6 km)		Garages and barns were blown down, and some structures sustained roof damage.
F2W of Monticello Wright 00105 miles
(8 km)
F2 Monticello Wright 00102 miles
(3.2 km)		Two tornadoes merged and caused extensive damage in the Monticello area. Homes in town lost their roofs, and many trees and power lines were downed. Damage was initially believed to have been a result of straight-line winds, though it was re-evaluated as an F2 tornado post-survey.
F0 Red Lake Falls area Red Lake 00500.2 miles
(0.32 km)
F1N of St. Francis Anoka, Isanti 005210 miles
(16 km)		One barn collapsed
F0 Dorothy area Red Lake 01130.2 miles
(0.32 km)
F1E of Forest Lake Washington 01151 miles
(1.6 km)		Brief tornado with unknown damage.
F0N of Rock Creek Pine 02044 miles
(6.4 km)		Weak tornado in a rural area did not cause any damage.
F0N of Olivia Renville 02590.1 miles
(0.16 km)
F0NE of Blomkest Kandiyohi 03150.1 miles
(0.16 km)
Wisconsin
F1SW of Conrath Rusk 04441 miles
(1.6 km)		A farmhouse lost its roof.
Source: Tornado History Project - July 1, 1997 Storm Data

July 2 event

F# LocationCountyTime (UTC)Path lengthDamage
Michigan
F1NE of Roscommon Crawford, Oscoda 190013 miles
(20.8 km)		Damage mainly to trees including in the Huron National Forest. One home was destroyed as well.
F1W of Chesaning Saginaw 19412 miles
(3.2 km)		A house lost 6 windows and sustained damage to its porch. Trees were downed and a garage was destroyed. Many cable and power lines were broken as well. [4]
F1SW of Chesaning Saginaw 19500.3 miles
(0.5 km)		Tornado tore siding from a house and garage and downed a tree. A wooden playhouse was thrown 20 feet. [5]
F1NE of Layton Corners Saginaw 20102 miles
(3.2 km)		Worst damage was in the Maple Grove area. Tornado destroyed two barns and downed many trees in a neighborhood. [6]
F1E of Au Gres Arenac 20153 miles
(4.8 km)		Three homes were destroyed and several others were damaged.
F1NW of Morseville Genesee 20200.3 miles
(0.5 km)		Tornado downed trees and caused roof damage to a house. [7]
F1E of Montrose Genesee 20202 miles
(3.2 km)		Numerous trees were downed. [8]
F1NE of Burt Saginaw 20201.5 miles
(1.4 km)		Tornado damaged a single house, where windows were blown out and the roof was damaged. A tree was downed and a playhouse was damaged as well. [9]
F3SE of Clio Genesee 20302 miles
(3.2 km)		Two homes and a bar were heavily damaged or destroyed. A billboard was blown over, with its steel support beams severely bent. Trees and power poles were downed as well. [10]
F1 Oak Grove area Livingston 204110 miles
(16 km)		Extensive tree damage occurred, and hay wagons were flipped. One wagon that was thrown was never located. A house under construction lost its roof as well. [11]
F3E of Thetford Center Genesee 20451.7 miles
(2.7 km)		1 death - Several homes were heavily damaged or destroyed, including one that was blown from its foundation. Barns and outbuildings were destroyed, and several metal high-tension towers were destroyed. Two cement silos had their tops ripped off. Trees were also downed, one of which landed on a house, resulting in a fatality. [12]
F1NE of Columbiaville Lapeer 21151 miles
(1.6 km)		Tornado threw boats onto the beach at Miller Lake and snapped numerous trees. Picnic tables were smashed and travel trailers were damaged as well. [13]
F1NE of Holly Oakland 21320.3 miles
(0.5 km)		1 death - 2 mobile home parks were heavily damaged, with several mobile homes being damaged or destroyed by the winds and/or by rolling trailers. Most of the trailers were not tied down. [14]
F2 Detroit area Wayne 22005 miles
(8 km)		Affected portions of the city of Detroit. 90 people were injured. Damage amounts was estimated at around $100 million. The towns of Hamtramck and Highland Park were also heavily affected. Some homes lost their roofs or were shifted from their foundations. Many trees and power lines were downed as well. [15]
F0SE of Romeo Macomb 22130.7 miles
(1.1 km)
Indiana
F0E of Noblesville Hamilton 20120.5 miles
(0.8 km)		Damaged a barn, an outbuilding, and trees.
F2 Anderson area Madison 20405 miles
(8 km)		35 homes and one business were damaged.
F0 New Castle area Henry 21040.1 miles
(0.16 km)		Damage was limited to trees.
Ontario
F1 Merlin/Erieau area Essex, Kent 203018.8 miles
(30 km)		Some structures lost their roofs and barns were destroyed.
Ohio
F0 Dublin area Franklin 22300.2 miles
(0.32 km)		Caused minor damage to several homes and blew down numerous trees.
F2E of Xenia Greene 23000.2 miles
(0.32 km)		A house was blown off its foundation and moved 35 feet away.
F3 Felicity area Clermont 003012 miles
(19.2 km)		Major damage occurred in the Felicity area. 56 mobile homes and 27 permanent homes were damaged or destroyed. Barns and sheds were also destroyed.
Source: Tornado History Project - July 2, 1997 Storm Data, 1997 Ontario tornadoes

July 3 event

F# LocationCountyTime (UTC)Path lengthDamage
New York
F1 E of Pumpkin Hollow Columbia 21235.3 miles
(8.5 km)		Two houses and a barn were damaged.
F1 S of Queechy Columbia 23171.2 miles
(1.9 km)		Several residences were damaged and a carport was moved.
F2 N of Cannan Center Columbia, NY, Berkshire, MA 23201.5 miles
(2.4 km)		In New York state, four greenhouse structures were damaged while a three-story home had its roof blown off and the garage completely destroyed and removed from its foundation. One home in Massachusetts was damaged.
Massachusetts
F1 SE of North Adams Berkshire 21361.3 miles
(2.1 km)		One home lost most of its roof shingles, and the steeple of a church was blown off.
F1 W of Colrain Franklin 21584.5 miles
(7.2 km)		Extensive tree damage occurred, a silo was destroyed, the roof of a barn was damaged, and a tractor was flipped over.
F2 NW of Hephzibah Heights Berkshire 22054.5 miles
(7.2 km)		10 to 20 homes were heavily damaged.
F2 N of West Otis Berkshire 22113.7 miles
(5.9 km)		15 to 20 homes were damaged.
F1 W of Griswoldville Franklin 22588.5 miles
(13.6 km)		15 trailers at a campground were damaged, including one that was destroyed.
New Hampshire
F1 SE of Swanzey Cheshire 23132 miles
(3.2 km)		A house barn was destroyed and an ice arena was damaged. Extensive tree damage occurred as well.
F2 E of Greenfield Hillsborough 23552 miles
(3.2 km)		A recycling facility was destroyed. Buildings at a campground, wood and aluminium buildings, and a sawmill were damaged.
Source: Tornado History Project - July 3, 1997 Storm Data

Other tornadoes

The Michigan tornado outbreak of July 2 was part of a larger outbreak stemming from a storm system that crossed the eastern part of North America from July 1 to July 3, 1997. On July 1, several tornadoes touched down across western and northern Minnesota north of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. On July 3, several tornadoes touched down from eastern New York to southern New Hampshire. No other fatalities were reported outside of Michigan. In total, 52 tornadoes touched from northeastern Kansas to New England during the three-day event.

Aftermath

Later that evening and the next day, the local television stations (such as WJBK, WDIV-TV, and WXYZ-TV) displayed video and images of downtown Detroit.

The temperatures on July 2 were very high, around 90 °F (32 °C), with a heat index close to 104 °F (40 °C). After the storm passed, the temperatures dropped to 70 °F (21 °C).

For the next 6 to 8 hours, there were still thunderstorms rolling and rumbling through, and many people were afraid of further tornadic activity, especially since two-thirds of the City of Windsor were without power until the next morning. Many large trees were felled by the storm's winds as well.

Tecumseh Road viaduct

The effects on the Tecumseh Road viaduct on the west end of Windsor, Ontario, were quite overwhelming, however. The steel girder viaduct was built in 1944, and was just two lanes, going under the CN Rail line that leads to the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel. The storms associated with the tornado outbreak dumped such a large amount of rain and floodwaters, that the viaduct was flooded up to the height of a car's roof, as one automobile was submerged (The driver was unharmed, however).

Since this viaduct was a well-known traffic bottleneck (even more so for transport trucks, since the viaduct was so low, it would peel the roof off their trailers), and would flood with around a foot of water from even a light rain, that it was completely closed, torn down, and rebuilt in August 1998, and finished 2 weeks ahead of schedule, and 2 million dollars under budget. The new underpass is built of concrete, is four lanes wide, and is designed to handle the largest of transport trucks.

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References

  1. ↑ WJBK-TV 2, Detroit, MI
  2. ↑ 1997: The Year in Review
  3. ↑ WJBK-TV 2, Detroit, MI [ permanent dead link ]
  4. ↑ "Southeast Michigan Tornado Outbreak". NWS Detroit/Pontiac. NOAA. June 15, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Southeast Michigan Tornado Outbreak". NWS Detroit/Pontiac. NOAA. June 15, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Southeast Michigan Tornado Outbreak". NWS Detroit/Pontiac. NOAA. June 15, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Southeast Michigan Tornado Outbreak". NWS Detroit/Pontiac. NOAA. June 15, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Southeast Michigan Tornado Outbreak". NWS Detroit/Pontiac. NOAA. June 15, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Southeast Michigan Tornado Outbreak". NWS Detroit/Pontiac. NOAA. June 15, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Southeast Michigan Tornado Outbreak". NWS Detroit/Pontiac. NOAA. June 15, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Southeast Michigan Tornado Outbreak". NWS Detroit/Pontiac. NOAA. June 15, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Southeast Michigan Tornado Outbreak". NWS Detroit/Pontiac. NOAA. June 15, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Southeast Michigan Tornado Outbreak". NWS Detroit/Pontiac. NOAA. June 15, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Southeast Michigan Tornado Outbreak". NWS Detroit/Pontiac. NOAA. June 15, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Southeast Michigan Tornado Outbreak". NWS Detroit/Pontiac. NOAA. June 15, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2014.

Sources

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