What the record says
On 12 May 1956, a tornado touched down near Dearborn, Michigan. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 6.8 miles long and up to 400 yards wide, rated F4 on the Fujita (F) scale. It injured 22 people.
- F4Fujita rating
- 0deaths
- 22injuries
- 6.8 mipath length
- 400 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 4 or 5.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
The start point was at 42.25, -83.22 and the end point at 42.22, -83.08 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Michigan
- Flushing, Michigan tornado8 June 1953, F5, 116 deaths, 844 injuries, 18.9 miles long
- Adrian, Michigan tornado11 April 1965, F4, 23 deaths, 294 injuries, 90.3 miles long
- Adrian, Michigan tornado11 April 1965, F4, 21 deaths, 293 injuries, 80.5 miles long
- Holland, Michigan tornado3 April 1956, F5, 17 deaths, 292 injuries, 58.8 miles long
- Mount Clemens, Michigan tornado8 May 1964, F4, 11 deaths, 224 injuries, 3.3 miles long
- Walker, Michigan tornado11 April 1965, F4, 5 deaths, 142 injuries, 20.6 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1956
- Birmingham, Alabama tornado15 April 1956, F4, 25 deaths, 200 injuries, 21.3 miles long
- Holland, Michigan tornado3 April 1956, F5, 17 deaths, 292 injuries, 58.8 miles long
- Berlin, Wisconsin tornado3 April 1956, F4, 7 deaths, 50 injuries, 11.5 miles long
- Belleville, Illinois tornado24 February 1956, F4, 6 deaths, 36 injuries, 77.6 miles long
- Meeker, Oklahoma tornado2 April 1956, F3, 5 deaths, 68 injuries, 42.6 miles long
All tornadoes of 1956 · Michigan tornado history · All notable tornadoes