NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bessemer, 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 Bessemer, Michigan since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 11 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 11
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Bessemer
The strongest of the 11 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on July 7, 1970; its path came within 16 miles. Of the 11, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 5. The most recent tornado was on September 25, 2020. Of the 546 Michigan cities on this site, 94% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Bessemer. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 40 times since 1965, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Bessemer has more hail reports within 10 miles than 57% of the 546 Michigan cities.
Compare Bessemer's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Bessemer
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s2
- 2000s1
- 1990s1
- 1980s2
- 1970s2(1 EF3+)
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 7, 1970 | F3 | 16 mi | 37.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 1958 | F2 | 22 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 2016 | EF1 | 3 mi | 2.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 2016 | EF1 | 8 mi | 2.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2005 | F1 | 23 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 1984 | F1 | 8 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1973 | F1 | 24 mi | 19.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 1969 | F1 | 24 mi | 33.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 25, 2020 | EF0 | 21 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 16, 1992 | F0 | 25 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 3, 1988 | F0 | 15 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 11 of 11, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Bessemer
The Storm Prediction Center has 40 hail reports within 10 miles of Bessemer since 1965, made on 24 separate days. Of these, 24 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on July 28, 2006. The most recent report is from August 8, 2025. June has the most reports, 15.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Bessemer
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ironwood, MI, 7 miles west of Bessemer at 1,430 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 76°F and low of 56°F; January is the coolest, at 20°F and 4°F. July is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 37.5 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 2 days a year. Lows fall below freezing on about 187 nights a year. Snowfall averages 185.5 inches a year, most of it in December. That 37.5 inches is more than at 107 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (82%). Hurley, WI, 9 miles southwest, has its own station (Hurley, WI): 37.4 inches a year, the same as here, and a July average high of 77°F against 76°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 20 | 4 | 2.0 | 6 | 43.1 |
| Feb | 25 | 5 | 1.5 | 5 | 30.9 |
| Mar | 36 | 14 | 2.0 | 5 | 23.9 |
| Apr | 48 | 28 | 3.1 | 7 | 11.7 |
| May | 63 | 41 | 3.8 | 8 | 1.9 |
| Jun | 72 | 51 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 76 | 56 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 75 | 54 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 67 | 46 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.3 |
| Oct | 53 | 35 | 4.1 | 9 | 6.0 |
| Nov | 37 | 23 | 2.9 | 7 | 24.1 |
| Dec | 25 | 11 | 2.4 | 7 | 43.6 |
| Year | 50 | 31 | 37.5 | 85 | 185.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ironwood, MI (1,430 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 Bessemer
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 82 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bessemer: 69 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 floods, 4 flash floods and 4 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $22.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 11, 2016.
April 12, 2023: flood 9 miles from the centre of Bessemer — $20.0 million damage.
April 28, 2013: flood 6 miles from the centre of Bessemer — $1.0 million damage.
July 11, 2016: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Bessemer — $1.0 million damage.
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
Gogebic County, which includes Bessemer, has been named in 9 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 27, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Gogebic County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Low for hail and strong wind; Very Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, coastal flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $5.7 million a year, the 69th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.3 million (41%), 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.