GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Friday marks 50 years since an outbreak of ten tornadoes ravaged Michigan.
The April 21, 1967 outbreak started with an F3 twister, which carved a path from the Grandville area to southern Grand Rapids, through East Grand Rapids and all the way to Ada. The National Weather Service said the F3 tornado destroyed 65 structures and damaged more than 400 others. Hundreds of trees were uprooted.
Tornadoes touched down in Kent, Allegan, Barry, Muskegon, Ionia, Ingham, Cass, Clinton and Eaton counties.
A total of ten tornadoes hit Michigan that day, including an F4, F3, six F2s one F1 and one F0. But that damage in Michigan was overshadowed by the devastation in Illinois. Chief Meteorologist Bill Steffen details the extreme damage in his blog.