Tornadoes and Hail in Michigan, May 12, 1956

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Michigan, May 12, 1956
Start: 1956-05-12T15:05
End: 1956-05-12T17:55
Location: Michigan

May 12, 1956 · 14 events in 9 counties and zones

12 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 4
Injuries: 156
Property damage: $7.0 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 14

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

12 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Montcalm

When: May 12, 3:05 PM CST
Where: Montcalm County
Rating: F2
Path length: 9.1 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 43.430, -85.120

Tornado, Gratiot

When: May 12, 3:15 PM CST
Where: Gratiot County
Rating: F2
Path length: 3.8 mi
Path width: 800 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 4 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 43.300, -84.550

Tornado, Clinton

When: May 12, 4:02 PM CST
Where: Clinton County
Rating: F2
Path length: 10.7 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 43.100, -84.850

Tornado, Shiawassee

When: May 12, 4:15 PM CST
Where: Shiawassee County
Rating: F1
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 42.880, -84.370

Tornado, Wayne

When: May 12, 4:45 PM CST
Where: Wayne County
Rating: F0
Path length: 11.7 mi
Path width: 333 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 42.370, -83.430

Thunderstorm Wind, Genesee

When: May 12, 4:50 PM CST
Where: Genesee County
Coordinates: 43.000, -83.680

Tornado, Saginaw

When: May 12, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Saginaw County
Rating: F2
Path length: 3.8 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 43.300, -84.130

Tornado, Livingston

When: May 12, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Livingston County
Rating: F2
Path length: 7.4 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 42.550, -83.770

Tornado, Livingston

When: May 12, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Livingston County
Rating: F2
Path length: 3.3 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 42.550, -83.750

Tornado, Oakland

When: May 12, 5:12 PM CST
Where: Oakland County
Rating: F2
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 42.520, -83.620

Tornado, Oakland

When: May 12, 5:12 PM CST
Where: Oakland County
Rating: F2
Path length: 4.5 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 42.530, -83.670

Tornado, Genesee

When: May 12, 5:25 PM CST
Where: Genesee County
Rating: F4
Path length: 6.6 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Deaths: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 116 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 43.000, -83.680

Hail, Wayne

When: May 12, 5:40 PM CST
Where: Wayne County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 42.380, -83.080

Tornado, Wayne

When: May 12, 5:55 PM CST
Where: Wayne County
Rating: F4
Path length: 6.8 mi
Path width: 400 yd
Injuries: 22 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 42.250, -83.220

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Gratiot	1956-05-12				Direct

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Michigan in 1956 Every state in 1956 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Michigan, 1956

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10040561, 10040562, 10040563, 10040564, 10040565, 10040566, 10040567, 10040568, 10040569, 10040570, 10040571, 10040572, 10040573, 10040574.