NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Dexter, 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
5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Dexter, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 99 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 99
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
52 deaths in all
What the records show for Dexter
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Dexter; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 63 mph winds when its centre passed 74 miles away. The record near Dexter begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm 17 miles away. Of the 5 systems, one has come since 2000. Dexter has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 48% of the 546 Michigan cities on this site. The highest rating among the 99 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 11, 1965, came within 24 miles. Of the 99, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 25 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Dexter has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 94% of the 546 Michigan cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 122 times since 1963, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Dexter has more hail reports within 10 miles than 95% of the 546 Michigan cities.
Compare Dexter's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Dexter
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 4 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 14 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Dexter: 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 Dexter
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s8(1 EF3+)
- 2000s9
- 1990s14(1 EF3+)
- 1980s19(1 EF3+)
- 1970s19(2 EF3+)
- 1960s11(3 EF3+)
- 1950s11(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 24 mi | 90.3 mi | 23 / 294 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 23 mi | 80.5 mi | 21 / 293 |
| Jul 4, 1957 | F4 | 15 mi | 29.9 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 15, 1982 | F3 | 12 mi | 13 mi | 1 / 1 |
| May 11, 1974 | F3 | 7 mi | 0.9 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1953 | F3 | 8 mi | 11.3 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Mar 15, 2012 | EF3 | in town | 7.57 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 14, 1990 | F3 | 24 mi | 24 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 2, 1972 | F3 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 1969 | F3 | 23 mi | 13.9 mi | 0 / 54 |
| Jun 8, 1953 | F3 | 19 mi | 9.1 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Aug 24, 2023 | EF2 | 24 mi | 12.02 mi | 2 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 99, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Dexter
The Storm Prediction Center has 122 hail reports within 10 miles of Dexter since 1963, made on 57 separate days. Of these, 73 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on March 15, 2012. The most recent report is from July 20, 2023. May has the most reports, 44.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Dexter
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chelsea, MI, 6 miles west of Dexter at 900 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 16°F. May is the wettest at 3.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 34.6 inches over 78 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 141 nights a year. Snowfall averages 32.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 34.6 inches is more than at 76 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (58%). Pinckney, 8 miles north, has its own station (Howell Wwtp, MI): 32.9 inches a year, 1.7 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 16 | 2.4 | 6 | 10.9 |
| Feb | 34 | 17 | 2.0 | 5 | 8.6 |
| Mar | 44 | 25 | 2.2 | 6 | 4.7 |
| Apr | 58 | 37 | 3.0 | 7 | 0.9 |
| May | 70 | 48 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 57 | 3.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 61 | 3.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 51 | 2.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 40 | 3.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 47 | 31 | 2.6 | 7 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 36 | 23 | 2.1 | 6 | 6.0 |
| Year | 58 | 39 | 34.6 | 78 | 32.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chelsea, MI (900 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 Dexter
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 224 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Dexter: 211 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 flash floods, 4 floods and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $13.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 21, 2004. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 6. Of the 376 Michigan cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 300 have had fewer than Dexter.
June 18, 2010: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Dexter — 1 killed, $25,000 damage.
NWS: “Several trees were reported down, including one which fell onto a road. A car subsequently crashed into the fallen tree, causing 1 fatality.”
July 19, 2019: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Dexter — 1 injured.
July 9, 2020: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Dexter — 1 injured.
NWS: “Several large trees reported down, including one that fell onto a house.”
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
Washtenaw County, which includes Dexter, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Washtenaw County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $92.7 million a year, the 6th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $46.6 million (50%), 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.