Strong Wind, Lenawee
- When
- May 6, 12:00 PM EST to 2:00 PM EST
- Where
- Lenawee forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 41.895, -84.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in Michigan, May 6, 1999
A strong low pressure system drifted east across the upper Mississippi Valley during the day. Strong south winds ahead of the low brought warm, moist, and somewhat unstable air into Michigan.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $98,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 9
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 low pressure system drifted east across the upper Mississippi Valley during the day. Strong south winds ahead of the low brought warm, moist, and somewhat unstable air into Michigan. These winds were at times enhanced by scattered showers in the area, as well as by a strong cold front that pushed across southeast Michigan late in the afternoon. Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph were common, with occasional gusts in excess of 40 mph. The gusts were sufficient to down trees in Blissfield, Adrian, Howell, Flint, and Bay City. In St. Clair, a large truck unloading dirt was toppled. The worst damage occurred in the northeast side of the city of Saginaw, where a furniture store was deroofed.A band of showers and a few thunderstorms developed ahead of the cold front. One of these storms briefly produced a tornado that crossed from Lapeer into Tuscola County. The tornado moved across open farmland, and did no damage other that throwing some dirt around. However, the tornado was observed by numerous eyewitnesses.This thunderstorm continued northeast into Huron County, where it downed trees and power lines in the community of Ubly.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
6 strong wind, 2 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong Wind, Livingston
- When
- May 6, 1:00 PM EST to 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Livingston forecast zone
- Property damage
- $15,000
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 42.603, -83.911 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Genesee
- When
- May 6, 1:30 PM EST to 3:30 PM EST
- Where
- Genesee forecast zone
- Property damage
- $8,000
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 43.022, -83.707 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, St. Clair
- When
- May 6, 2:00 PM EST to 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- St. Clair forecast zone
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 42.931, -82.664 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Saginaw
- When
- May 6, 2:00 PM EST to 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Saginaw forecast zone
- Property damage
- $60,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 43.335, -84.053 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Bay
- When
- May 6, 2:00 PM EST to 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Bay forecast zone
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 43.721, -83.942 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Tornado, Lapeer
- When
- May 6, 3:50 PM EST to 3:52 PM EST
- Where
- Lapeer County, 1 mi NW of Clifford
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.3 mi
- Path width
- 65 yd
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 43.330, -83.200
Tornado, Tuscola
- When
- May 6, 3:52 PM EST to 3:54 PM EST
- Where
- Tuscola County, Kingston to 6 mi SSW of Kingston
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 1.7 mi
- Path width
- 65 yd
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 43.330, -83.230
Thunderstorm Wind, Huron
- When
- May 6, 4:30 PM EST
- Where
- Huron County, 7 mi SSE of Bad Axe
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $6,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 43.700, -82.950
What these are
- Strong Wind
- Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
- 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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 6, 1999
- Hail and Lightning Strike in Georgia, May 6, 1999
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Florida, May 6 to 7, 1999
- High Wind in Ohio, May 6, 1999
- Tornadoes and Hail in South Carolina, May 6, 1999
- Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 6, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 6, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 6 to 7, 1999
- Flood in Tennessee, May 6, 1999
- Damaging Winds in Michigan, May 6, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, May 6, 1999
- High Wind in Nebraska, May 6, 1999
More
Every storm in Michigan in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Michigan, 1999Warnings in Michigan, May 1999
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: 5698184, 5698185, 5698187, 5698186, 5698188, 5698189, 5698181, 5698182, 5698183.