NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Elk Rapids, 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 Elk Rapids, Michigan since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 27 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 27
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Elk Rapids
The strongest of the 27 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 3, 1956; its path came within 10 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an EF2 on October 18, 2007, killed 1 person. Of the 27, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 9 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 8. The most recent tornado was on September 22, 2025. Of the 546 Michigan cities on this site, 81% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Elk Rapids. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 16 times since 1998, with stones up to 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size). Of the 546 Michigan cities, 90% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Elk Rapids.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Elk Rapids
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s4
- 2000s2
- 1990s6
- 1980s1
- 1970s6(1 EF3+)
- 1960s3(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1956 | F4 | 10 mi | 50.3 mi | 1 / 25 |
| Jul 3, 1974 | F3 | 19 mi | 11.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 26, 1969 | F3 | 10 mi | 6.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 18, 2007 | EF2 | 16 mi | 4.45 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Jul 31, 1977 | F2 | 12 mi | 19.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 1976 | F2 | 24 mi | 3.3 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 8, 1964 | F2 | 2 mi | 16.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 13, 1961 | F2 | 9 mi | 14.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 22, 2025 | EF1 | 11 mi | 0.85 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 1, 2014 | EF1 | 20 mi | 4.02 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1998 | F1 | 15 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 8, 1990 | F1 | 4 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 27, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Elk Rapids
The Storm Prediction Center has 16 hail reports within 10 miles of Elk Rapids since 1998, made on 11 separate days. Of these, 10 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size), fell on June 8, 2011. The most recent report is from July 10, 2019. June has the most reports, 6.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Elk Rapids
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is NW Michigan Rsch Farm, MI, 13 miles west of Elk Rapids at 820 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 79°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 27°F and 19°F. October is the wettest at 3.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.4 inches; the year adds up to 31.3 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 133 nights a year. Snowfall averages 114.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 31.3 inches is more than at 19 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (15%). Kewadin, 7 miles north, has its own station (E Jordan, MI): 32.8 inches a year, 1.5 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 79°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 19 | 1.8 | 5 | 32.0 |
| Feb | 29 | 19 | 1.4 | 5 | 22.3 |
| Mar | 38 | 25 | 1.6 | 5 | 13.4 |
| Apr | 51 | 34 | 2.8 | 7 | 6.8 |
| May | 65 | 45 | 2.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 75 | 56 | 2.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 79 | 61 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 77 | 60 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 70 | 54 | 3.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 57 | 43 | 3.9 | 9 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 44 | 33 | 2.7 | 7 | 10.4 |
| Dec | 33 | 25 | 2.1 | 7 | 29.3 |
| Year | 54 | 39 | 31.3 | 74 | 114.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at NW Michigan Rsch Farm, MI (820 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 Elk Rapids
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 38 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Elk Rapids: 37 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 flash flood. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $9.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on July 17, 2006.
August 11, 2021: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Elk Rapids — 1 injured, $325,000 damage.
August 2, 2015: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Elk Rapids — $7.8 million damage.
August 2, 2015: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Elk Rapids — $600,000 damage.
NWS: “Considerable wind damage occurred in southwest and south central Antrim County. Many hundreds of trees were downed in these areas, with some resulting in damage to vehicles and structures.”
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
Antrim County, which includes Elk Rapids, has been named in 7 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 3 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought, 1 flood, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Antrim County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, coastal flooding, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.6 million a year, the 53rd highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.2 million (53%), 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 Elk Rapids
- Kewadin, MI7 mi
- Rapid City, MI8 mi
- Williamsburg, MI9 mi
- Bellaire, MI11 mi
- Traverse City, MI13 mi
- Suttons Bay, MI13 mi
- Central Lake, MI14 mi
- Mancelona, MI18 mi
- South Boardman, MI18 mi
- Cedar, MI19 mi
- Kalkaska, MI19 mi
- East Jordan, MI21 mi
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