NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Elmira, 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 Elmira, Michigan since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 32 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 32
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Elmira
The highest rating among the 32 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 20, 2022, came within 4 miles. Of the 32, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 11 have come since 2000. September has had the most tornadoes, 9. The most recent tornado was on September 22, 2025. Of the 546 Michigan cities on this site, 77% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Elmira. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 34 times since 1993, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 546 Michigan cities, 51% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Elmira.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Elmira
By decade
- 2020s3(1 EF3+)
- 2010s6
- 2000s2
- 1990s6
- 1980s3
- 1970s4(1 EF3+)
- 1960s3
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 2022 | EF3 | 4 mi | 17.54 mi | 2 / 44 |
| Jul 3, 1974 | F3 | 1 mi | 11.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 31, 1977 | F2 | 6 mi | 19.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1975 | F2 | 19 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 14 |
| May 8, 1964 | F2 | 17 mi | 16.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 13, 1961 | F2 | 25 mi | 14.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 22, 2025 | EF1 | 16 mi | 0.85 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 1, 2014 | EF1 | 19 mi | 7.21 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 1, 2014 | EF1 | 18 mi | 9.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 1, 2014 | EF1 | 14 mi | 4.02 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 1, 2002 | F1 | 11 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1998 | F1 | 20 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 32, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Elmira
The Storm Prediction Center has 34 hail reports within 10 miles of Elmira since 1993, made on 21 separate days. Of these, 17 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on May 20, 2022. The most recent report is from September 22, 2025. May has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Elmira
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Gaylord, MI, 8 miles east of Elmira at 1,318 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 77°F and low of 55°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 8°F. October is the wettest at 4.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 37.0 inches over 92 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 3 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 176 nights a year. Snowfall averages 140.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 37.0 inches is more than at 106 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (81%). Gaylord, 10 miles east, has its own station (Gaylord Otsego Co Airport, MI): 29.4 inches a year, 7.6 less than here, and a July average high of 78°F against 77°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 8 | 2.8 | 10 | 37.4 |
| Feb | 26 | 7 | 2.0 | 7 | 26.4 |
| Mar | 37 | 15 | 2.2 | 6 | 14.9 |
| Apr | 50 | 27 | 2.9 | 7 | 8.0 |
| May | 64 | 40 | 3.2 | 7 | 0.5 |
| Jun | 73 | 51 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 77 | 55 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 75 | 53 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 68 | 46 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 54 | 35 | 4.1 | 9 | 2.5 |
| Nov | 40 | 25 | 3.4 | 9 | 19.2 |
| Dec | 29 | 16 | 3.0 | 10 | 31.4 |
| Year | 51 | 32 | 37.0 | 92 | 140.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Gaylord, MI (1,318 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 Elmira
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 36 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Elmira: 32 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $2.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on September 26, 1998.
July 14, 2024: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Elmira — 3 injured, $65,000 damage.
August 28, 2018: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Elmira — 1 injured, $1.2 million damage.
NWS: “A swath of widespread wind damage extended from west-southwest to east of the city of Gaylord. Some of the most concentrated damage was along Van Tyle Road between Hayes Tower Road and Dickerson Road.”
June 11, 2005: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Elmira — 1 injured.
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 Elmira, 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 Elmira
- Gaylord, MI10 mi
- Boyne Falls, MI12 mi
- Mancelona, MI12 mi
- Boyne City, MI14 mi
- East Jordan, MI14 mi
- Bellaire, MI18 mi
- Central Lake, MI20 mi
- Wolverine, MI20 mi
- Johannesburg, MI22 mi
- Petoskey, MI22 mi
- Kalkaska, MI23 mi
- Kewadin, MI24 mi
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