Tornadoes: do they happen much in Detroit Metro? (Lansing, Ann Arbor: tornado, moving)

[EddieOlSkool]

Hey,

I was curious as to whether tornadoes happen much in the Detroit metro area, near Oakland county. I looked at homefacts and saw that Detroit was classified as High Risk for tornadoes but neighboring Oakland county was a low risk area. I didn't realize that such a small distance could make a big difference.

Anyway, just curious. I know this isn't tornado alley but also know that SE Michigan can get them moreso than Western Michigan.

[animatedmartian]

The way that website calculates tornado risk is by the potential for personal and property damage; ie, a more urbanized area will have a higher risk than would a rural area because of the greater number of people and property.

As far as the actual number of tornadoes that occur, I'd say it's quite the opposite. Most large cities don't get too many tornadoes because of the urban heat island effect which mixes up the air and makes it harder for small tornadoes to form. Maybe once every year there's a possible tornado within the urbanized area of Metro Detroit but more often than not, they happen in rural areas outside of the metro (near Ann Arbor, for example, tends to get hit more often than Detroit because of the more rural surroundings).

[313Weather]

No.

And the few tornadoes that do happen are almost always on the weaker end of the scale.

[DTWflyer]

Tornadoes in Southeast Michigan are relatively rare, and when they do they are generally lower-strength that what occurs in the tornado alley in the plains states. We also generally do not get the long-track tornadoes found in other parts of the Midwest.

The Great Lakes help to weaken strong thunderstorm lines, so they loose a lot of intensity as they move across the cooler waters of Lake Michigan. As said above, the heat island effect within urban areas generally prevents formation but it is possible.

Funnel cloud spotting are more frequent. More damage usually occurs from straight-line winds and/or microbursts, which people often thing may be a tornado due to the tree/structural damage.

Areas most prone to tornadoes seem to be Lenawee, Monroe, Washinaw counties and rural Oakland. Tornadoes in Wayne & Macomb county are more rare.
Michigan Tornadoes

Some of the more recent significant ones that I can remember:

2012: Dexter - torn through part of Hudson Mills Metropark and a newer housing development.
1997: a pretty big outbreak of storms in Southeastern Michigan. Several touchdowns in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb including one that did hit part of the City of Detroit

[EddieOlSkool]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

The way that website calculates tornado risk is by the potential for personal and property damage; ie, a more urbanized area will have a higher risk than would a rural area because of the greater number of people and property.

Not sure about that. Chicago is rated as very low risk whereas the surrounding areas are rated higher risk.

[animatedmartian]

Hmm. I checked quite a few cities, even those in Tornado Alley, and most came up low risk. I'm not sure what they're measuring then. It doesn't seem terrible accurate. Either way, the difference between two counties isn't all that great.

[michigan83]

This doesn't answer your question, but the risk for tornadoes in Michigan is higher in places where incoming storms do not have to cross Lake Michigan. This generally puts the southern and eastern portions of the state at a higher risk. If a storm system is coming from the southwest, it can actually hit the Lansing area, for example, without ever crossing Lake Michigan (not the case if it comes directly from the west). If you go west 100 miles, the odds of that happening are much lower. But it is very easy for a weather system to reach SE Michigan without being affected by the lake.

Of course, this doesn't account for ALL potential tornadoes. They can happen anywhere. But it does affect the odds in each part of the state.

[jessxwrites89]

Eddie, where do you get your information? I want to see!

[EddieOlSkool]

Originally Posted by jessxwrites89

Eddie, where do you get your information? I want to see!

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

[jessxwrites89]

Originally Posted by EddieOlSkool

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Thanks. Moving into the area in a month hopefully.