NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Colon, 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 Colon, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 68 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 68
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
92 deaths in all
What the records show for Colon
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Colon; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 38 miles away. The record near Colon 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 Colon. The highest rating among the 68 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 5 times; the most recent, on April 2, 1977, came within 25 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 11, 1965, killed 36 people. Of the 68, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 24 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 22. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Colon has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 52% of the 546 Michigan cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 35 times since 1966, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 546 Michigan cities, 49% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Colon.
Compare Colon's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Colon
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 6 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 Colon: 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 Colon
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s7
- 2000s5(1 EF3+)
- 1990s2
- 1980s7(2 EF3+)
- 1970s14(1 EF3+)
- 1960s12(4 EF3+)
- 1950s9
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 17 mi | 37 mi | 36 / 321 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 18 mi | 90.3 mi | 23 / 294 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 20 mi | 80.5 mi | 21 / 293 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 16 mi | 21.6 mi | 5 / 41 |
| Apr 2, 1977 | F4 | 25 mi | 12.4 mi | 0 / 10 |
| May 13, 1980 | F3 | 24 mi | 10.6 mi | 5 / 79 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F3 | 18 mi | 47 mi | 1 / 2 |
| May 15, 1986 | F3 | 19 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 6, 2024 | EF2 | 16 mi | 8.46 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 2024 | EF2 | 21 mi | 10.86 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 7, 2024 | EF2 | 1 mi | 19.53 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 15 mi | 10.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 68, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Colon
The Storm Prediction Center has 35 hail reports within 10 miles of Colon since 1966, made on 26 separate days. Of these, 21 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 7, 2024, the most recent report. June has the most reports, 11.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Colon
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Three Rivers, MI, 16 miles west of Colon at 810 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 17°F. May is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.1 inches; the year adds up to 39.9 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 145 nights a year. Snowfall averages 41.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.9 inches is more than at 126 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (96%). Sherwood, 6 miles northeast, has its own station (Coldwater St School, MI): 39.2 inches a year, 0.7 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 | 17 | 2.9 | 7 | 15.0 |
| Feb | 34 | 18 | 2.1 | 5 | 9.7 |
| Mar | 45 | 26 | 2.3 | 6 | 3.7 |
| Apr | 58 | 36 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.6 |
| May | 69 | 48 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 57 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 61 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 51 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 40 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 47 | 31 | 3.0 | 7 | 2.9 |
| Dec | 36 | 23 | 2.4 | 7 | 9.3 |
| Year | 58 | 39 | 39.9 | 79 | 41.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Three Rivers, MI (810 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 Colon
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 94 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Colon: 92 thunderstorm wind reports, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 29, 2011.
May 21, 2004: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Colon — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “Emergency management reported a 36 year old female was driving in Sturgis when a large tree fell on her vehicle and crushed it. The driver was killed instantly.”
August 13, 2011: lightning strike in Colon — 1 injured.
NWS: “A fire official reported that a 17 year old female was struck by lightning at a campground while taking a shower. No specific details were given as to the extent of injuries, which are assumed minor.”
May 29, 2011: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Colon — $1.2 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Colon's ZIP code 49040 have filed 12 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $354,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 8% 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, 11 have fewer than Colon.
St. Joseph County, which includes Colon, has been named in 8 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 3 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 flood, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 27, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives St. Joseph County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes and inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $18.9 million a year, the 36th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.4 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.