578
Recorded events
9
Direct deaths
38
Direct injuries
$49.1M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Wayne County, Michigan: 578 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 90. That places the county #70 nationally and #2 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Wayne County, Michigan: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Wayne County is the 2010s, when 170 of the county's 578 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Wayne County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 62.8% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #70 for this hazard and #2 within Michigan, putting it in the 97.8 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Wayne County with 175 recorded events, while Feb is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2, 1997 | GROSSE PT FARMS | 80 | 5 | 8 | $10.0M |
| Jul 21, 1998 | FLAT ROCK | 55 | 2 | 2 | $825K |
| Jul 18, 2011 | HIGHLAND PARK | 43 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 21, 1987 | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Sep 3, 2011 | SOUTHGATE | 61 | 0 | 10 | $10K |
| Sep 6, 2014 | WESTLAND | 50 | 0 | 5 | $0 |
| May 10, 2000 | ALLEN PARK | 65 | 0 | 3 | $755K |
| May 25, 2019 | WEST SUMPTER | 47 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15, 2026 | (DTW)DETROIT METRO A | 60 | $0 |
| Apr 15, 2026 | WAYNE | 52 | $0 |
| Apr 15, 2026 | (YIP)WILOW RUN APT D | 55 | $0 |
| Apr 4, 2026 | BELLEVILLE ARPT | 61 | $0 |
| Jul 28, 2025 | ROMULUS | 48 | $15K |
| Jul 12, 2025 | GROSSE PT PARK | 53 | $0 |
| Jul 12, 2025 | DEARBORN HGTS | 55 | $0 |
| Jul 12, 2025 | GREENFIELD VLG | 56 | $0 |
| Jul 12, 2025 | PLYMOUTH | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 24, 2025 | GROSSE PT WOODS | 56 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Wayne County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Considerable property damage and downed trees were reported down across Dearborn Heights. The damage was heavy along Warren from Evergreen Inkster. A couple of trees fell onto houses and three or four cars received damage.
Several trees were downed in the Palmer Woods subdivision on the north side of Detroit. A large tree was downed across the southbound lanes of Woodward Avenue (M-1) north of Seven Mile Road, blocking traffic for two hours.
Trained spotters reported power lines and utility poles blown down at Wayne and Cherry Hill roads. A newspaper also reported that a large tree had fallen onto a house near Cherry Hill and Carlson roads. Only minor damage was reported.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Wayne County, Michigan?
578 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Wayne County between 1955 and 2026, causing 9 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Wayne County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Wayne County measured 90.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Wayne County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Wayne County, Michigan.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/michigan/wayne-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.