NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bear Lake, MI
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Bear Lake, Michigan since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 6 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 6
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Bear Lake
The strongest of the 6 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 3, 1956; its path came within 3 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 6, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and one has come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on June 12, 2008. Of the 546 Michigan cities on this site, 97% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Bear Lake. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 20 times since 1998, with stones up to 3.25 inches. Of the 546 Michigan cities, 82% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Bear Lake.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Bear Lake
By decade
- 2000s1
- 1980s4
- 1950s1(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1956 | F4 | 3 mi | 50.3 mi | 1 / 25 |
| Oct 15, 1989 | F1 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 15, 1989 | F1 | 14 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 1986 | F1 | 11 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 1983 | F1 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 2008 | EF0 | 14 mi | 1.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 6 of 6, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Bear Lake
The Storm Prediction Center has 20 hail reports within 10 miles of Bear Lake since 1998, made on 12 separate days. Of these, 12 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.25 inches, fell on October 3, 2006. The most recent report is from April 27, 2024. April has the most reports, 8.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Bear Lake
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Beulah 7SSW, MI, 7 miles north of Bear Lake at 773 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 29°F and 17°F. October is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 36.4 inches over 86 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 4 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 146 nights a year. Snowfall averages 92.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 36.4 inches is more than at 98 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (75%). Frankfort, 14 miles north, has its own station (Frankfort 2NE, MI): 34.4 inches a year, 2.0 less than here, and a July average high of 77°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 17 | 2.5 | 8 | 26.8 |
| Feb | 31 | 17 | 1.8 | 6 | 20.2 |
| Mar | 42 | 23 | 2.1 | 6 | 11.2 |
| Apr | 54 | 33 | 3.5 | 8 | 3.5 |
| May | 66 | 44 | 3.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 76 | 54 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 59 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 78 | 58 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 52 | 3.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 41 | 4.6 | 10 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 45 | 32 | 3.1 | 8 | 7.7 |
| Dec | 34 | 23 | 2.4 | 8 | 22.9 |
| Year | 55 | 38 | 36.4 | 86 | 92.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Beulah 7SSW, MI (773 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Bear Lake
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 15 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bear Lake: 14 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $107,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 64 mph, on June 6, 1999.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Manistee County, which includes Bear Lake, has been named in 8 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 4 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 1 drought, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Manistee County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, coastal flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.4 million a year, the 55th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.6 million (70%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Bear Lake
- Benzonia, MI11 mi
- Thompsonville, MI12 mi
- Frankfort, MI14 mi
- Beulah, MI15 mi
- Manistee, MI16 mi
- Mesick, MI20 mi
- Interlochen, MI21 mi
- Buckley, MI22 mi
- Lake Ann, MI24 mi
- Grawn, MI25 mi
- Kingsley, MI31 mi
- Maple City, MI33 mi
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