Tornadoes · United States · Michigan

1974 tornadoes in Michigan

39 tornadoes touched down in Michigan in 1974, 153 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 3 people and injured 51.

1973 1975 The whole country in 1974

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.

F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 mph
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.
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.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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.

Every tornado in Michigan in 1974

February 28 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
February 28	6:25 PM EDT	F2	Wayne	0.1	50			$50 to $500

April 1 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 1	7:50 PM EDT	F1	Branch	10.6	20			$5,000 to $50,000

April 3 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 3	8:30 PM EDT	F2	Monroe	2.0	30			$500 to $5,000
April 3	8:44 PM EDT	F2	Hillsdale	19.3	440	2	31	$500,000 to $5 million
April 3	9:15 PM EDT	F2	Hillsdale	9.9	10		5
April 3	9:15 PM EDT	F2	Hillsdale	5.4	167		5	$5,000 to $50,000
April 3	9:56 PM EDT	F3	Monroe	0.3	30		3	$50,000 to $500,000

April 12 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 12	8:55 PM EDT	F2	Ogemaw	0.8	100			$500 to $5,000
April 12	9:20 PM EDT	F1	Kalamazoo	0.2	10			$50 to $500

April 14 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 14	12:03 PM EDT	F2	Midland	2.5	30		1	$5,000 to $50,000

April 21 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 21	4:20 PM CDT	F1	Dickinson	0.1	10			$50 to $500

May 11 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 11	5:31 PM EDT	F3	Livingston	0.9	60	1		$50,000 to $500,000

May 16 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 16	10:30 PM EDT	F1	Sanilac	9.0	50			$500 to $5,000

June 7 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 7	9:00 PM EDT	F1	Gladwin	0.2	13
June 7	11:22 PM EDT	F2	Wexford	1.2	70		1	$5,000 to $50,000

June 9 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 9	9:10 PM EDT	F2	Mecosta	1.5	100		2	$50,000 to $500,000

June 10 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 10	2:01 AM EDT	F2	Roscommon	0.3	50			$500 to $5,000

June 15 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 15	6:07 PM EDT	F2	Macomb	2.0	20			$5,000 to $50,000

June 20 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 20	7:30 PM EST	F1	Cass	2.0	30	$50 to $500
June 20	9:30 PM EDT	F2	Allegan	5.7	20	$50,000 to $500,000
June 20	10:05 PM EDT	F2	Berrien	0.8	100	$5,000 to $50,000

July 3 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 3	2:30 AM EDT	F1	Kalkaska	6.4	33			$500 to $5,000
July 3	10:15 PM EDT	F3	Antrim	11.9	67		2	$50,000 to $500,000

July 4 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
July 4	1:08 PM EDT	F1	Eaton	4.5	33	1	$50,000 to $500,000
July 4	3:00 PM EDT	F2	Huron	5.7	33		$5,000 to $50,000
July 4	3:05 PM EDT	F1	Tuscola	0.5	13		$500 to $5,000

July 14 8 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
July 14	2:15 AM EDT	F1	Delta	5.2	27	$5,000 to $50,000
July 14	3:00 PM EDT	F1	Mecosta	1.5	20	$500 to $5,000
July 14	3:00 PM EDT	F1	Bay	0.1	10
July 14	5:00 PM EDT	F1	Macomb	0.1	10	$50 to $500
July 14	5:08 PM EDT	F2	Wayne	1.5	27	$50,000 to $500,000
July 14	5:20 PM EDT	F1	Macomb	0.3	13	$500 to $5,000
July 14	5:22 PM EDT	F3	Genesee	1.0	33	$50,000 to $500,000
July 14	5:23 PM EDT	F1	Oakland	0.1	10	$5,000 to $50,000

September 12 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 12	6:08 PM EDT	F1	Midland	4.3	10			$500 to $5,000
September 12	6:30 PM EDT	F1	Gladwin	0.1	10			$5,000 to $50,000

September 17 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 17	5:20 PM EDT	F2	Genesee	0.8	10			$5,000 to $50,000

September 21 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 21	8:50 AM EDT	F1	Berrien	1.5	33			$5,000 to $50,000
September 21	8:50 AM EDT	F0	Berrien	0.5	33			$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Every tornado in Michigan since 1950 Warnings in force in Michigan The live radar over Michigan

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.