The West Bloomfield tornado of 1976
Were you in the area at that time?
Apparently it rolled right through our area and caused a lot of damage around Maple and Orchard Lake Road. It started our as an unseasonably warm first day of spring (3/20/1976) that was to take a turn for the worse. Much worse!
The powerful EF4 tornado had wind speeds between 208 and 270 mph. It cut a swath of destruction nearly 4-mile long by 350-yard wide .
Some local residents at the time recount their experiences in these videos. Includes footage of the aftermath.
Were you in the area at that time? What are your memories? Share them in the comments below.
Sources/More Info:
- West Bloomfield Patch – Remembering the powerful West Bloomfield tornado of 1976
- Civic Center TV
- weather.gov — anniversary of F4 tornado
- Oakland Press — History of tornadoes in Oakland County
- Oakland Press — West Bloomfield man, 67, loves to chase tornadoes
- Oakland Press — Museum marking anniversary of tornado
- Weather Historian — West Bloomfield tornado
- West Bloomfield Beacon – Historian, resident recounts record tornado
- Michigan Severe Weather Blog — Michigan Tornado History – March 20, 1976
- Click on Detroit – Remembering one of metro Detroit’s most notorious tornadoes — On March 20, 1976, an F4 tornado devastated West Bloomfield.