Severe Weather History


Hazard archive · 1950 — present

Tornado in Wayne County, Michigan

42

Recorded events

2

Direct deaths

188

Direct injuries

$126.0M

Property damage

Tornado in Wayne County, Michigan: 42 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #567 nationally and #3 statewide for this hazard.

Decade by decade

Tornado in Wayne County, Michigan: events per decade

Tornado in Wayne County, Michigan: recorded events per decade
Tornado in Wayne County, Michigan: recorded events per decade

Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.

The busiest decade for tornado in Wayne County is the 1970s, when 8 of the county's 42 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, tornado makes up 4.6% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #567 for this hazard and #3 within Michigan, putting it in the 80.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.

Seasonality

Events by month

0Jan
1Feb
0Mar
5Apr
2May
9Jun
6Jul
11Aug
6Sep
0Oct
1Nov
1Dec

Aug is the peak month for tornado in Wayne County with 11 recorded events, while Jan 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.

Tornado tracks

Paths crossing this county

DateScalePath lengthMax widthOrigin
1956-05-12EF46.8 mi400 ydTouched down here
1957-11-20EF31.5 mi100 ydTouched down here
1983-05-02EF323.0 mi200 ydTouched down here
1969-07-04EF313.9 mi100 ydCrossed in
2008-09-13EF22.7 mi200 ydTouched down here
1997-07-02EF25.0 mi2,500 ydTouched down here
1992-04-16EF22.0 mi50 ydTouched down here
1984-08-30EF25.6 mi150 ydTouched down here
1980-07-16EF21.3 mi10 ydTouched down here
1974-02-28EF20.1 mi50 ydTouched down here
Source: NOAA SPC SVRGIS tornado tracks · path geometry intersected with county boundaries

Significant events

Deadliest on record

DateLocationScaleDeathsInjuriesDamage
Nov 20, 1957F3112$250K
Jun 5, 2024PLYMOUTHEF112$0
Jul 2, 1997HIGHLAND PARKF2090$90.0M
Jul 4, 1969F3050$2.5M
May 12, 1956F4022$250K
Apr 16, 1992F204$2.5M
Aug 30, 1984F204$2.5M
Aug 2, 1986F103$0
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events · dates UTC

Most recent

Latest recorded events

DateLocationMagnitudeDamage
Apr 15, 2026MELVINDALEEF0$125K
Apr 4, 2026BELLEVILLE ARPTEF0$75K
Jun 5, 2024PLYMOUTHEF1$0
Aug 25, 2023GIBRALTAREF1$50K
Aug 25, 2023ROCKWOODEF0$50K
Aug 25, 2023BELLEVILLEEF1$60K
Aug 25, 2023CHERRY HILLEF0$100K
Sep 26, 2018GIBRALTAREF1$500K
Sep 26, 2018ROCKWOODEF0$150K
Aug 1, 2018TAYLOR CENTEREF0$50K
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events · dates UTC · recent entries may be preliminary

Other hazards here

More from Wayne County

County overview →

From the record

What the reports say

Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain

Quick answers

Frequently asked

How many tornado events are on record in Wayne County, Michigan?

42 tornado events are recorded in Wayne County between 1953 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths.

What is the strongest tornado recorded in Wayne County?

The strongest tornado on record in Wayne County measured F4.

Where does the tornado 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

“Tornado in Wayne County, Michigan.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/michigan/wayne-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.


Historical reference only — for official alerts visit weather.gov