Tornado outbreak of July 1–3, 1997

A destructive tornado outbreak occurred on July 2, 1997, in the built up area of Detroit, Michigan. There were 13 tornadoes in total, 3 dragged through neighborhoods and downtown, hitting Detroit’s West Side between I 96 and Eight Mile Road, Hamtramck and Highland Park. The storms killed 7, caused local flooding, and destroyed houses. 5 of the fatalities were recorded in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, due to straight line winds of up to 100 mph that blew a gazebo full of people into Lake St. Clair. One tornado formed east of the Detroit River, in Essex County, Ontario, near Windsor, Ontario and caused damage in Windsor and Essex County. The strongest tornado was listed as an F3.

F#LocationCounty Time (UTC)Path lengthDamageKansas F1E of WoodlawnNemaha10152 miles (3.2 km)Four barns and a machine shed were destroyed, and a hay wagon was tossed some distance into a field. Minnesota F1SE of GlenwoodPope21350.1 miles (0.16 km) F1Willmar areaKandiyohi22451 miles (1.6 km)A warehouse was destroyed and the roof of a motel was damaged. F1SW of SpicerKandiyohi22502 miles (3.2 km)Cabins and boat docks were damaged. F0W of MentorPolk23070.2 miles (0.32 km) F0SE of Crow RiverMeeker23150.5 miles (0.8 km)Caused damage to trees. F0W of DasselMeeker23353 miles (4.8 km)One barn was damaged and a tree was blown into a house. F0SW of TerrebonneRed Lake23400.2 miles (0.32 km) F3E of RassatWright23435 miles (8 km)One home was completely destroyed. F1W of WaverlyWright00001 miles (1.6 km)Garages and barns were blown down, and some structures sustained roof damage. F2W of MonticelloWright00105 miles (8 km) F2MonticelloWright00102 miles (3.2 km)Two tornadoes merged and caused extensive damage in the Monticello area. Homes in town lost their roofs, and many trees and power lines were downed. Damage was initially believed to have been a result of straight line winds, though it was re evaluated as an F2 tornado post survey. F0Red Lake Falls areaRed Lake00500.2 miles (0.32 km) F1N of St. FrancisAnoka, Isanti005210 miles (16 km)One barn collapsed F0Dorothy areaRed Lake01130.2 miles (0.32 km) F1E of Forest LakeWashington01151 miles (1.6 km)Brief tornado with unknown damage. F0N of Rock CreekPine02044 miles (6.4 km)Weak tornado in a rural area did not cause any damage. F0N of OliviaRenville02590.1 miles (0.16 km) F0NE of BlomkestKandiyohi03150.1 miles (0.16 km)Wisconsin F1SW of ConrathRusk04441 miles (1.6 km)A farmhouse lost its roof. Source: Tornado History Project July 1, 1997 Storm Data

F#LocationCounty Time (UTC)Path lengthDamageMichigan F1NE of RoscommonCrawford, Oscoda190013 miles (20.8 km)Damage mainly to trees including in the Huron National Forest. One home was destroyed as well. F1W of ChesaningSaginaw19412 miles (3.2 km)A house lost 6 windows and sustained damage to its porch. Trees were downed and a garage was destroyed. Many cable and power lines were broken as well. F1SW of ChesaningSaginaw19500.3 miles (0.5 km)Tornado tore siding from a house and garage and downed a tree. A wooden playhouse was thrown 20 feet. F1NE of Layton CornersSaginaw20102 miles (3.2 km)Worst damage was in the Maple Grove area. Tornado destroyed two barns and downed many trees in a neighborhood. F1E of Au GresArenac20153 miles (4.8 km)Three homes were destroyed and several others were damaged. F1NW of MorsevilleGenesee20200.3 miles (0.5 km)Tornado downed trees and caused roof damage to a house. F1E of MontroseGenesee20202 miles (3.2 km)Numerous trees were downed. F1NE of BurtSaginaw20201.5 miles (1.4 km)Tornado damaged a single house, where windows were blown out and the roof was damaged. A tree was downed and a playhouse was damaged as well. F3SE of ClioGenesee20302 miles (3.2 km)Two homes and a bar were heavily damaged or destroyed. A billboard was blown over, with its steel support beams severely bent. Trees and power poles were downed as well. F1Oak Grove areaLivingston204110 miles (16 km)Extensive tree damage occurred, and hay wagons were flipped. One wagon that was thrown was never located. A house under construction lost its roof as well. F3E of Thetford CenterGenesee20451.7 miles (2.7 km)1 death Several homes were heavily damaged or destroyed, including one that was blown from its foundation. Barns and outbuildings were destroyed, and several metal high tension towers were destroyed. Two cement silos had their tops ripped off. Trees were also downed, one of which landed on a house, resulting in a fatality. F1NE of ColumbiavilleLapeer21151 miles (1.6 km)Tornado threw boats onto the beach at Miller Lake and snapped numerous trees. Picnic tables were smashed and travel trailers were damaged as well. F1NE of HollyOakland21320.3 miles (0.5 km)1 death 2 mobile home parks were heavily damaged, with several mobile homes being damaged or destroyed by the winds and/or by rolling trailers. Most of the trailers were not tied down. F2Detroit areaWayne22005 miles (8 km)Affected portions of the city of Detroit. 90 people were injured. Damage amounts was estimated at $100 million. The towns of Hamtramck and Highland Park were also heavily affected. Some homes lost their roofs or were shifted from their foundations. Many trees and power lines were downed as well. F0SE of RomeoMacomb22130.7 miles (1.1 km)Indiana F0E of NoblesvilleHamilton20120.5 miles (0.8 km)Damaged a barn, an outbuilding, and trees. F2Anderson areaMadison20405 miles (8 km)35 homes and one business were damaged. F0New Castle areaHenry21040.1 miles (0.16 km)Damage was limited to trees. Ontario F1 Merlin/Erieau areaEssex, Kent203018.8 miles (30 km)Some structures lost their roofs and barns were destroyed. Ohio F0Dublin areaFranklin22300.2 miles (0.32 km)Caused minor damage to several homes and blew down numerous trees. F2E of XeniaGreene23000.2 miles (0.32 km)A house was blown off its foundation and moved 35 feet away. F3Felicity areaClermont003012 miles (19.2 km)Major damage occurred in the Felicity area. 56 mobile homes and 27 permanent homes were damaged or destroyed. Barns and sheds were also destroyed. Source: Tornado History Project July 2, 1997 Storm Data, 1997 Ontario tornadoes

F#LocationCounty Time (UTC)Path lengthDamageNew York F1 E of Pumpkin HollowColumbia21235.3 miles (8.5 km)Two houses and a barn were damaged. F1 S of QueechyColumbia23171.2 miles (1.9 km)Several residences were damaged and a carport was moved. F2 N of Cannan CenterColumbia, NY, Berkshire, MA23201.5 miles (2.4 km)In New York state, four greenhouse structures were damaged while a three story home had its roof blown off and the garage completely destroyed and removed from its foundation. One home in Massachusetts was damaged. Massachusetts F1 SE of North AdamsBerkshire21361.3 miles (2.1 km)One home lost most of its roof shingles, and the steeple of a church was blown off. F1 W of ColrainFranklin21584.5 miles (7.2 km)Extensive tree damage occurred, a silo was destroyed, the roof of a barn was damaged, and a tractor was flipped over. F2 NW of Hephzibah HeightsBerkshire22054.5 miles (7.2 km)10 to 20 homes were heavily damaged. F2 N of West OtisBerkshire22113.7 miles (5.9 km)15 to 20 homes were damaged. F1 W of GriswoldvilleFranklin22588.5 miles (13.6 km)15 trailers at a campground were damaged, including one that was destroyed. New Hampshire F1 SE of SwanzeyCheshire23132 miles (3.2 km)A house barn was destroyed and an ice arena was damaged. Extensive tree damage occurred as well. F2 E of GreenfieldHillsborough23552 miles (3.2 km)A recycling facility was destroyed. Buildings at a campground, wood and aluminium buildings, and a sawmill were damaged. Source: Tornado History Project July 3, 1997 Storm Data

The Michigan tornado outbreak of July 2 was part of a larger outbreak stemming from a storm system that crossed the eastern part of North America from July 1 to July 3, 1997. On July 1, several tornadoes touched down across western and northern Minnesota north of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. On July 3, several tornadoes touched down from eastern New York to southern New Hampshire. No other fatalities were reported outside of Michigan. In total, 52 tornadoes touched from northeastern Kansas to New England during the three day event.

Later that evening and the next day, the local television stations (such as WJBK, WDIV TV, and WXYZ TV) displayed video and images of downtown Detroit. The temperatures on July 2 were very high, around , with a heat index close to After the storm passed, the temperatures dropped to
For the next 6 to 8 hours, there were still thunderstorms rolling and rumbling through, and many people were afraid of further tornadic activity, especially since two thirds of the City of Windsor were without power until the next morning. Many large trees were felled by the storm's winds as well.

The effects on the Tecumseh Road viaduct on the west end of Windsor, Ontario, were quite overwhelming, however. The steel girder viaduct was built in 1944, and was just two lanes, going under the CN Rail line that leads to the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel. The storms associated with the tornado outbreak dumped such a large amount of rain and floodwaters, that the viaduct was flooded up to the height of a car's roof, as one automobile was submerged (The driver was unharmed, however). Since this viaduct was a well known traffic bottleneck (even more so for transport trucks, since the viaduct was so low, it would peel the roof off their trailers), and would flood with around a foot of water from even a light rain, that it was completely closed, torn down, and rebuilt in August 1998, and finished 2 weeks ahead of schedule, and 2 million dollars under budget. The new underpass is built of concrete, is four lanes wide, and is designed to handle the largest of transport trucks.