NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Benton Harbor, 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
4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Benton Harbor, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 43 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 43
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Benton Harbor
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Benton Harbor; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 60 mph winds when its centre passed 60 miles away. The record near Benton Harbor begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm 13 miles away. None of the 4 systems has come since 2000. Of the 546 Michigan cities on this site, 52% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Benton Harbor. The highest rating among the 43 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 13, 1980, came within 13 miles. Of the 43, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 10 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 15. The most recent tornado was on May 7, 2024. Of the 546 Michigan cities, 67% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Benton Harbor. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 44 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.25 inches. Benton Harbor has more hail reports within 10 miles than 60% of the 546 Michigan cities.
Compare Benton Harbor's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Benton Harbor
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Benton Harbor: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Benton Harbor
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s7
- 2000s2
- 1990s5
- 1980s6(1 EF3+)
- 1970s13
- 1960s4
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 13, 1980 | F3 | 13 mi | 21 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F3 | 19 mi | 60.6 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 20 mi | 2.73 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 8 mi | 3.38 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 25, 1998 | F2 | 21 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1992 | F2 | 14 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 25 |
| May 30, 1989 | F2 | 23 mi | 10.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1981 | F2 | 12 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1979 | F2 | 12 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 12, 1979 | F2 | 15 mi | 3.3 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F2 | 18 mi | 10.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 4, 1976 | F2 | 6 mi | 44.8 mi | 0 / 9 |
The strongest 12 of 43, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Benton Harbor
The Storm Prediction Center has 44 hail reports within 10 miles of Benton Harbor since 1955, made on 29 separate days. Of these, 19 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.25 inches, fell on July 2, 1997. The most recent report is from March 31, 2023. July has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Benton Harbor
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Benton Harbor Airport, MI, 1 mile north of Benton Harbor at 625 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 20°F. October is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.9 inches; the year adds up to 38.3 inches over 83 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 128 nights a year. Snowfall averages 77.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.3 inches is more than at 114 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (87%). Eau Claire, 9 miles southeast, has its own station (Eau Claire 4 NE, MI): 38.5 inches a year, 0.2 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 20 | 2.5 | 7 | 29.5 |
| Feb | 36 | 21 | 1.9 | 5 | 18.8 |
| Mar | 47 | 28 | 2.3 | 6 | 7.7 |
| Apr | 59 | 37 | 3.8 | 9 | 1.1 |
| May | 70 | 47 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 57 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 60 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 54 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 44 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 49 | 34 | 3.0 | 7 | 3.8 |
| Dec | 38 | 25 | 2.3 | 7 | 16.6 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 38.3 | 83 | 77.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Benton Harbor Airport, MI (625 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 Benton Harbor
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 105 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Benton Harbor: 98 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 floods, 1 flash flood and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 9, and the NWS estimated $409,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on June 5, 2010.
May 21, 2004: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Benton Harbor — 7 injured, $50,000 damage.
July 18, 2010: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Benton Harbor — 1 injured.
October 11, 2021: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Benton Harbor — 1 injured.
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Benton Harbor's ZIP code 49022 have filed 30 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $656,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 10% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 160 Michigan cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 69 have fewer than Benton Harbor.
Berrien County, which includes Benton Harbor, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 27, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Berrien County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $45.1 million a year, the 14th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $27.1 million (60%), 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 Benton Harbor
- Saint Joseph, MI4 mi
- Stevensville, MI8 mi
- Coloma, MI8 mi
- Eau Claire, MI9 mi
- Watervliet, MI10 mi
- Berrien Springs, MI12 mi
- Baroda, MI12 mi
- Bridgman, MI13 mi
- Hartford, MI14 mi
- Covert, MI15 mi
- Dowagiac, MI17 mi
- Sawyer, MI18 mi
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