No Quakes, No Hurricanes, No Gators? Silly Michigan TikTok Trend May Not be Accurate

Without fail, after the first big snow of the year, my TikTok is filled with a great trend, especially as someone who moved here from the south.

The silly trend uses a quick, simple sound repeating the mantra "We don't have earthquakes, we don't have hurricanes, we don't have alligators" as someone brushes several inches worth of snow from their car or shovels their driveway. I grew up where two of the three are rather prevalent, and trust me, I'll take the snow any day.

Still, when I see that sound used, I often wonder - is that even true?

While earthquakes are usually regional, they can theoretically happen anywhere. Hurricanes are huge weather systems that cover large areas as they pass through, surely one has touched the state before? And alligators, well, animals are unpredictable and can turn up in the strangest of places.

So after enjoying a handful of this season's TikToks declaring the bright side of living in the path of Lake Effect snow, I decided to find out when the most recent examples of each happened in Michigan.

The Most Recent Alligator Sighting in Michigan

The most recent report of an Aligator sighting I found was in August 2023 when a woman in Romulus, MI, called 911 to report a roughly 4-foot alligator was on her apartment patio.

Unfortunately for the animal, but fortunate for the safety of residents and responders, this gator had its mouth bound shut. The USA Today article tells the story of a skeptical police chief and how they responded to the scene.

Surprisingly, this is actually a rather common occurrence in Michigan. According to MLive, alligators are found in Michigan every year. There is even a sanctuary in Athens, the Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary, which offers courses for animal control officers in the state on how to safely catch alligators.

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The Most Recent Earthquake in Michigan

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the most recent earthquake in Michigan was in 2022. A 2.4-magnitude earthquake hit near Luna Pier, MI, just north of the Ohio border on July 11, 2022.

While the quake was rather fast and weak, it was certainly noticeable as residents reported a loud bang just before 1 p.m. that day as the quake hit.

Michigan has had several other quakes in the past, though none have been overly severe. Most tend to happen in Lake Erie, as a matter of fact. The strongest quake according to the USGS was a 4.2 that hit Galesburg in 2015.

The Most Recent Hurricane in Michigan

This one depends on your perspective, I guess. But there are three particular instances worth mentioning when it comes to hurricanes in Michigan.

According to the National Weather Service, the most recent hurricane to survive long enough to affect Michigan was Isabel in September 2003, giving Detroit a quarter-inch of rain and 33 MPH winds.

On the other hand, in 2008, Hurricane Ike managed to do $18 million worth of damage in Michigan alone, leading The Weather Channel to name it the worst Hurricane to ever touch Michigan. Michigan isn't listed for damages on the Wikipedia page for Hurricane Isabel.

Of course, if you talk about hurricanes in Michigan, you can't leave out Hurricane Huron from 1996 or the White Hurricane of 1913. The former formed over the Great Lakes from Lake Michigan over to Lake Huron, gathering strength over a matter of days. The storm peaked at 73 MPH winds, technically keeping it from officially being a hurricane by 1 MPH.

The White Hurricane was responsible for 244 deaths in November of 1913. This one was considered a hurricane by the National Weather Service as the snow-infused storm carried 95 MPH winds.

So yes, it's a funny TikTok trend to help look on the bright side of life while shoveling snow in negative-degree weather, but unfortunately, it's pretty far from accurate here in Michigan.