The most recent Detroit tornado was back in 1997. NWS is assessing whether that streak is now broken.

As the National Weather Service assesses storm damage in Detroit from Thursday's severe weather to determine whether strong winds or a tornado caused the destruction, local residents and officials are noting how long it has been since the city was directly impacted by a tornado.

While tornadoes have struck communities across Southeast Michigan in recent years, including on Wednesday in St. Clair County, the last one to strike in the City of Detroit happened on July 2, 1997.

This was an F-2 tornado that injured 90 people in the city. The National Weather Service Detroit archives say the F-2 tornado in Detroit was part of a tornado outbreak that produced 13 tornado touchdowns in Michigan in a single day, which was at the time a record. The other tornadoes included two F-3 tornadoes in Genesee County.

Tornado damage intensity at the time was rated by what the National Weather Service calls the "original Fujita scale." An F-2 storm had estimated winds of 113 to 157 mph, resulting in considerable damage such as roofs torn off homes and large trees uprooted. For comparison, an EF-2 "enhanced Fujita scale" tornado under the current rating scale has wind gusts estimated at 111 to 135 mph.    

The Detroit tornado caused extensive damage across an area extending from Northwest Detroit into Highland Park and Hamtramck. The high winds were accompanied by extensive flash flooding in the Detroit area.

Although there were no fatalities in Detroit from that storm, the National Weather Service said there were five deaths in Wayne County from severe thunderstorm winds, one death in Oakland County from tornado activity, and one death in Genesee County from tornado activity.