What the record says
On 2 April 1977, a tornado touched down near Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 12.4 miles long and up to 183 yards wide, rated F4 on the Fujita (F) scale. It injured 10 people.
- F4Fujita rating
- 0deaths
- 10injuries
- 12.4 mipath length
- 183 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 42.28, -85.55 and the end point at 42.35, -85.32 (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 1977
- Birmingham, Alabama tornado4 April 1977, F5, 22 deaths, 130 injuries, 14.7 miles long
- Windsor, Illinois tornado21 August 1977, F3, 6 deaths, 56 injuries, 26.9 miles long
- Noxapater, Mississippi tornado23 February 1977, F4, 2 deaths, 5 injuries, 15 miles long
- Merwin, Missouri tornado4 May 1977, F3, 2 deaths, 15 injuries, 29.8 miles long
- Bellevue, Michigan tornado2 April 1977, F4, 1 death, 44 injuries, 16.6 miles long
All tornadoes of 1977 · Michigan tornado history · All notable tornadoes