Tornadoes · United States · Michigan · 1967

F2 tornado, Barry County, Michigan, April 21, 1967

This F2 tornado ran 14.5 miles across Barry County on April 21, 1967, touching down at 7:00 PM GMT-5 and reaching 500 yards wide. It killed nobody and injured 1, and did $5,000 to $50,000 of property damage.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mphthis tornado

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating
F2
Date
April 21, 1967
Touchdown
7:00 PM GMT-5 (00:00 UTC)
Path length
14.5 miles (23.3 km)
Path width
500 yards (457 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
1
Property damage
$5,000 to $50,000
County
Barry County
Touchdown point
42.720, -85.450
Lift-off point
42.800, -85.180
Record number
190

The surface observations

Grand Rapids (GRR), 22 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
00:00 UTC

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 1967 tornado in MichiganEvery tornado in Michigan since 1950Warnings in force in Michigan nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 21, 1967

45 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 218:00 AM GMT-6F0Scotland, MO1.010under $50
April 2112:30 PM GMT-6F1Clinton, MO0.210under $50
April 211:33 PM GMT-5F1Rush, IN0.110$50 to $500
April 211:00 PM GMT-6F1Clinton, MO0.150$500 to $5,000
April 211:00 PM GMT-6F2Daviess, MO8.490$5,000 to $50,000
April 211:15 PM GMT-6F0Daviess, MO0.110under $50
April 211:20 PM GMT-6F3Ray, MO14.6440$50,000 to $500,000
April 212:00 PM GMT-6F3Jefferson, IA0.1200
April 212:00 PM GMT-6F2Grundy, MO6.3507$5,000 to $50,000
April 212:10 PM GMT-6F2Chariton, MO3.0200$50,000 to $500,000
April 212:20 PM GMT-6F4Linn, MO59.05002$50,000 to $500,000
April 212:20 PM GMT-6F2Saline, MO20.4100$5,000 to $50,000
April 213:00 PM GMT-6F2Van Buren, IA32.8100$50,000 to $500,000
April 213:03 PM GMT-6F0Lafayette, MO0.110under $50
April 213:10 PM GMT-6F1Bates, MO0.110$500 to $5,000
April 213:30 PM GMT-6F1Whiteside, IL0.330$500 to $5,000
April 213:35 PM GMT-6F2Henry, IL25.1300$50,000 to $500,000
April 213:50 PM GMT-6F2Henry, IL4.5300$5,000 to $50,000
April 213:50 PM GMT-6F4Belvidere tornado, IL25.51,20024450$50,000 to $500,000
April 214:00 PM GMT-6F1Ogle, IL1.013$5,000 to $50,000
April 214:02 PM GMT-6F2Lee, IL5.677$5,000 to $50,000
April 214:15 PM GMT-6F1Lee, IL5.6100$50,000 to $500,000
April 214:30 PM GMT-6F1Bureau, IL0.5150$5,000 to $50,000
April 214:30 PM GMT-6F2Putnam, IL0.3301$500 to $5,000
April 214:40 PM GMT-6F1DeKalb, IL2.040$5,000 to $50,000
April 215:00 PM GMT-6F4McHenry, IL8.81501100$500,000 to $5 million
April 215:00 PM GMT-6F2Kane, IL2.71155$500,000 to $5 million
April 216:10 PM GMT-5F2Jennings, IN6.3102$5,000 to $50,000
April 215:10 PM GMT-6F2Kane, IL0.310$50,000 to $500,000
April 215:10 PM GMT-6F1DuPage, IL0.510$5,000 to $50,000
April 215:10 PM GMT-6F1DuPage, IL6.820$50,000 to $500,000
April 215:24 PM GMT-6F4Oak Lawn tornado, IL15.020033500$5 million to $50 million
April 215:40 PM GMT-6F1Cook, IL0.310$5,000 to $50,000
April 216:55 PM GMT-5F2Allegan, MI18.6504$50,000 to $500,000
April 216:58 PM GMT-5F3Kent, MI13.640032$5 million to $50 million
April 217:25 PM GMT-5F2Berrien, MI1.027$50,000 to $500,000
April 214:45 PM GMT-8F1Madera, CA0.110$500 to $5,000
April 218:10 PM GMT-5F0Muskegon, MI0.110
April 218:15 PM GMT-5F2Ionia, MI0.1336$50,000 to $500,000
April 218:15 PM GMT-5F4Clinton, MI12.0508$500,000 to $5 million
April 218:30 PM GMT-5F2Kent, MI0.327$5,000 to $50,000
April 218:48 PM GMT-5F1Eaton, MI0.110$5,000 to $50,000
April 219:10 PM GMT-5F2Eaton, MI10.910$5,000 to $50,000
April 219:27 PM GMT-5F0White, IN0.110$500 to $5,000
April 218:50 PM GMT-6F1Champaign, IL0.110$500 to $5,000

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.