NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Coldwater, 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 Coldwater, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 65 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 65
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
58 deaths in all
What the records show for Coldwater
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Coldwater; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 26 miles away. The record near Coldwater begins with an unnamed storm in 1923; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 4 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 546 Michigan cities on this site, 52% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Coldwater. The highest rating among the 65 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 11, 1965, came within 18 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 11, 1965, killed 23 people. Of the 65, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 20 have come since 2000. April and May have had the most tornadoes, 16 each. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Of the 546 Michigan cities, 49% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Coldwater. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 53 times since 1965, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Coldwater has more hail reports within 10 miles than 69% of the 546 Michigan cities.
Compare Coldwater's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Coldwater
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Coldwater: 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 Coldwater
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s5
- 2000s4
- 1990s3(1 EF3+)
- 1980s8(1 EF3+)
- 1970s15(1 EF3+)
- 1960s14(4 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 10 mi | 90.3 mi | 23 / 294 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 8 mi | 80.5 mi | 21 / 293 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 18 mi | 21.6 mi | 5 / 41 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 14 mi | 36.2 mi | 5 / 53 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F3 | 21 mi | 21 mi | 1 / 24 |
| May 15, 1986 | F3 | 3 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 1961 | F3 | 25 mi | 33.4 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 19 mi | 19.3 mi | 2 / 31 |
| May 7, 2024 | EF2 | 12 mi | 19.53 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 30, 1983 | F2 | 5 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 1977 | F2 | 22 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F2 | 24 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 65, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Coldwater
The Storm Prediction Center has 53 hail reports within 10 miles of Coldwater since 1965, made on 34 separate days. Of these, 20 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on August 1, 2003. The most recent report is from May 7, 2024. May has the most reports, 17.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Coldwater
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Coldwater St School, MI, 4 miles north of Coldwater at 984 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 16°F. August is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and March the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 39.2 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 136 nights a year. Snowfall averages 42.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.2 inches is more than at 120 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (92%). Montgomery, 13 miles southeast, has its own station (Angola, IN): 38.9 inches a year, 0.3 less than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 16 | 2.5 | 6 | 13.1 |
| Feb | 34 | 18 | 2.3 | 6 | 10.7 |
| Mar | 45 | 26 | 2.2 | 5 | 4.9 |
| Apr | 58 | 36 | 3.4 | 8 | 1.1 |
| May | 69 | 47 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 57 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 60 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 58 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 51 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 40 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 47 | 31 | 2.8 | 7 | 3.6 |
| Dec | 36 | 22 | 2.4 | 6 | 9.2 |
| Year | 58 | 38 | 39.2 | 81 | 42.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Coldwater St School, MI (984 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 Coldwater
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 133 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Coldwater: 133 thunderstorm wind reports. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $708,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 7, 2010.
May 21, 2004: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Coldwater — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “A 71 year old male was killed when a large tree fell on his vehicle and crushed it as he was driving north of Colon. The driver was killed instantly.”
August 27, 2024: thunderstorm wind in Coldwater — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “Damage to a mobile home park. Healthy trees around 1 foot in diameter downed.”
August 27, 2024: thunderstorm wind in Coldwater — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “Widespread tree damage to a mobile home park southwest of Coldwater.”
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 Coldwater's ZIP code 49036 have filed 26 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $353,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 4% 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, 62 have fewer than Coldwater.
Branch County, which includes Coldwater, has been named in 6 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 2 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 hurricane, 1 tornado). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 27, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Branch County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $13.7 million a year, the 43rd highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.5 million (55%), 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 Coldwater
- Quincy, MI7 mi
- Bronson, MI10 mi
- Union City, MI12 mi
- Sherwood, MI13 mi
- Montgomery, MI13 mi
- Fremont, IN13 mi
- Reading, MI14 mi
- Litchfield, MI15 mi
- Athens, MI17 mi
- Colon, MI17 mi
- Burr Oak, MI17 mi
- Angola, IN18 mi
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