High Wind in Michigan, April 6 to 7, 1997

Name: High Wind in Michigan, April 6 to 7, 1997
Start: 1997-04-06T15:00
End: 1997-04-07T05:00
Location: Michigan

April 6 to 7, 1997 · NWS DTX · 17 events in 17 counties and zones

A strong cold front tracked across southeast Michigan during the late afternoon on the 6th. Very strong west to southwest winds accompanied the frontal passage, then continued through the night.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 17 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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: 0
Injuries: 1
Property damage: $1.2 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 17

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS DTX wrote it up.

A strong cold front tracked across southeast Michigan during the late afternoon on the 6th. Very strong west to southwest winds accompanied the frontal passage, then continued through the night. Gusts to 70 mph were estimated in a few spots during the late afternoon. In Belleville, about 15 miles southwest of Detroit, a 34-pound four-year-old girl was blown several feet through the air, landing on the driveway by her house. She suffered a head wound that required stitches. Elsewhere, a five-story high metal frame for a building under construction in Ferndale was blown down, and two concrete walls under construction for an Ethan Allen furniture store were caved in at Sterling Heights. In the thumb area, a large barn collapsed near Deckerville, damaging several thousand dollars of farm equipment inside, and a large cable TV tower was toppled near Port Hope. The wind damaged trees and powerlines throughout southeast Michigan, resultig in a power loss to 125,000 customers.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

17 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Sanilac

When: April 6, 3:00 PM EST to April 7, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Sanilac forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.443, -82.646 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Shiawassee

When: April 6, 3:00 PM EST to April 7, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Shiawassee forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 42.954, -84.147 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, St. Clair

When: April 6, 3:00 PM EST to April 7, 5:00 AM EST
Where: St. Clair forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $75,000
Coordinates: 42.931, -82.664 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Tuscola

When: April 6, 3:00 PM EST to April 7, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Tuscola forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.491, -83.440 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Washtenaw

When: April 6, 3:00 PM EST to April 7, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Washtenaw forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $75,000
Coordinates: 42.253, -83.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Wayne

When: April 6, 3:00 PM EST to April 7, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Wayne forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $150,000
Coordinates: 42.285, -83.261 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Bay

When: April 6, 3:00 PM EST to April 7, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Bay forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.721, -83.942 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Genesee

When: April 6, 3:00 PM EST to April 7, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Genesee forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $75,000
Coordinates: 43.022, -83.707 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Huron

When: April 6, 3:00 PM EST to April 7, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Huron forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.910, -82.855 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Lapeer

When: April 6, 3:00 PM EST to April 7, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Lapeer forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.090, -83.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Lenawee

When: April 6, 3:00 PM EST to April 7, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Lenawee forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 41.895, -84.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Livingston

When: April 6, 3:00 PM EST to April 7, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Livingston forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $75,000
Coordinates: 42.603, -83.911 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Macomb

When: April 6, 3:00 PM EST to April 7, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Macomb forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 42.673, -82.910 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Midland

When: April 6, 3:00 PM EST to April 7, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Midland forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.647, -84.388 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Monroe

When: April 6, 3:00 PM EST to April 7, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Monroe forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 41.921, -83.494 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Oakland

When: April 6, 3:00 PM EST to April 7, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Oakland forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 42.660, -83.386 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Saginaw

When: April 6, 3:00 PM EST to April 7, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Saginaw forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $75,000
Coordinates: 43.335, -84.053 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Michigan in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Michigan, April 1997

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: 5594059, 5594060, 5594061, 5594062, 5594063, 5594064, 5597144, 5597145, 5597146, 5597147, 5597148, 5597149, 5597150, 5597151, 5597152, 5597153, 5597154.