Tornadoes and Hail in Michigan, March 20, 1976

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Michigan, March 20, 1976
Start: 1976-03-20T14:20
End: 1976-03-20T18:50
Location: Michigan

March 20, 1976 · 28 events in 20 counties and zones

16 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 6 tornado, 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

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The toll

Deaths: 2
Injuries: 58
Property damage: $26 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 28

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

16 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 6 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Berrien

When: March 20, 2:20 PM CST
Where: Berrien County
Coordinates: 41.800, -86.500

Hail, Berrien

When: March 20, 2:25 PM CST
Where: Berrien County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 41.830, -86.250

Hail, Van Buren

When: March 20, 2:30 PM CST
Where: Van Buren County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 42.330, -86.680

Thunderstorm Wind, Cass

When: March 20, 2:45 PM CST
Where: Cass County
Coordinates: 41.920, -86.000

Hail, St. Joseph

When: March 20, 2:50 PM CST
Where: St. Joseph County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 41.770, -85.770

Thunderstorm Wind, Kent

When: March 20, 3:00 PM CST
Where: Kent County
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Coordinates: 42.880, -85.520

Thunderstorm Wind, Gladwin

When: March 20, 3:00 PM CST
Where: Gladwin County
Coordinates: 43.980, -84.480

Hail, St. Joseph

When: March 20, 3:02 PM CST
Where: St. Joseph County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 41.830, -85.700

Thunderstorm Wind, Allegan

When: March 20, 3:12 PM CST
Where: Allegan County
Coordinates: 42.530, -85.730

Hail, St. Joseph

When: March 20, 3:15 PM CST
Where: St. Joseph County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 42.030, -85.720

Thunderstorm Wind, Allegan

When: March 20, 3:15 PM CST
Where: Allegan County
Coordinates: 42.450, -85.630

Tornado, Calhoun

When: March 20, 3:20 PM CST
Where: Calhoun County
Rating: F1
Path length: 6.2 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 42.230, -84.950

Tornado, Ionia

When: March 20, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Ionia County
Rating: F2
Path length: 9.9 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 42.880, -85.100

Thunderstorm Wind, Kalamazoo

When: March 20, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Kalamazoo County
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates: 42.230, -85.550

Thunderstorm Wind, Barry

When: March 20, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Barry County
Coordinates: 42.650, -85.280

Hail, Montcalm

When: March 20, 3:40 PM CST
Where: Montcalm County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 43.300, -85.080

Tornado, Eaton

When: March 20, 3:50 PM CST
Where: Eaton County
Rating: F1
Path width: 93 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 42.500, -84.600

Tornado, Ingham

When: March 20, 3:55 PM CST
Where: Ingham County
Rating: F1
Path length: 18.9 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 42.520, -84.580

Thunderstorm Wind, Eaton

When: March 20, 4:10 PM CST
Where: Eaton County
Coordinates: 42.570, -84.820

Thunderstorm Wind, Genesee

When: March 20, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Genesee County
Coordinates: 42.920, -83.500

Thunderstorm Wind, Genesee

When: March 20, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Genesee County
Coordinates: 43.030, -83.680

Thunderstorm Wind, Lapeer

When: March 20, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Lapeer County
Coordinates: 43.030, -83.450

Thunderstorm Wind, Ionia

When: March 20, 4:40 PM CST
Where: Ionia County
Coordinates: 42.780, -85.130

Thunderstorm Wind, Tuscola

When: March 20, 5:45 PM CST
Where: Tuscola County
Coordinates: 43.650, -83.250

Thunderstorm Wind, Shiawassee

When: March 20, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Shiawassee County
Coordinates: 43.000, -84.170

Tornado, Oakland

When: March 20, 6:15 PM CST
Where: Oakland County
Rating: F4
Path length: 3.8 mi
Path width: 117 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 55 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 42.520, -83.420

Tornado, Macomb

When: March 20, 6:40 PM CST
Where: Macomb County
Rating: F3
Path length: 17.1 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 42.700, -82.970

Thunderstorm Wind, Macomb

When: March 20, 6:50 PM CST
Where: Macomb County
Coordinates: 42.800, -83.020

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, Oakland	1976-03-20				Direct
Tornado, Macomb	1976-03-20				Direct

What these are

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.
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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Michigan in 1976 Every state in 1976 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Michigan, 1976

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: 10038642, 10038643, 10038644, 10038645, 10038646, 10038647, 10038648, 10038649, 10038650, 10038651, 10038652, 10038653, 10038654, 10038655, 10038656, 10038657, 10038658, 10038659, 10038660, 10038661, 10038662, 10038663, 10038664, 10038665, 10038666, 10038667, 10038668, 10038669.