1997 Southeast Michigan tornado outbreak


The Southeast Michigan 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. 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. 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.

Aftermath

Later that evening and the next day, the local television stations displayed video and images of downtown Detroit.
The temperatures on July 2 were very high, around, with a heat index close to. After the storm passed, the temperatures dropped to.
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.
Since this viaduct was a well-known traffic bottleneck, 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.

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.

Tornado table

Confirmed tornadoes

July 1 event

July 2 event

July 3 event