NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Flat Rock, 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 Flat Rock, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 78 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 78
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
50 deaths in all
What the records show for Flat Rock
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Flat Rock; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 14 miles away. The record near Flat Rock begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm 14 miles away. Of the 5 systems, one has come since 2000. Flat Rock has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 48% of the 546 Michigan cities on this site. The highest rating among the 78 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 11, 1965, came within 10 miles. Of the 78, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 24 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Flat Rock has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 68% of the 546 Michigan cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 82 times since 1959, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Flat Rock has more hail reports within 10 miles than 82% of the 546 Michigan cities.
Compare Flat Rock's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Flat Rock
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 4 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 22 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 14 | 14 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 Flat Rock: 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 Flat Rock
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s13
- 2000s2
- 1990s5
- 1980s10
- 1970s21(1 EF3+)
- 1960s11(4 EF3+)
- 1950s7(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 10 mi | 90.3 mi | 23 / 294 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 10 mi | 80.5 mi | 21 / 293 |
| Jun 8, 1953 | F4 | 24 mi | 5.4 mi | 4 / 18 |
| May 12, 1956 | F4 | 10 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 22 |
| Nov 20, 1957 | F3 | 22 mi | 1.5 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 24 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 4, 1969 | F3 | in town | 13.9 mi | 0 / 54 |
| Apr 17, 1963 | F3 | 13 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 6, 2010 | EF2 | 16 mi | 13.01 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Sep 13, 2008 | EF2 | 21 mi | 2.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 1997 | F2 | 20 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 90 |
| Apr 16, 1992 | F2 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 78, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Flat Rock
The Storm Prediction Center has 82 hail reports within 10 miles of Flat Rock since 1959, made on 52 separate days. Of these, 36 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on May 23, 1962. The most recent report is from July 14, 2023. July has the most reports, 23.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Flat Rock
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Detroit Metro Airport, MI, 9 miles north of Flat Rock at 631 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 19°F. May is the wettest at 3.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.1 inches; the year adds up to 34.4 inches over 74 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 120 nights a year. Snowfall averages 45.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 34.4 inches is more than at 69 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (53%). South Rockwood, 4 miles south, has its own station (Newport 4SSE, MI): 33.2 inches a year, 1.2 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 19 | 2.2 | 6 | 14.0 |
| Feb | 35 | 21 | 2.1 | 5 | 12.5 |
| Mar | 46 | 29 | 2.4 | 6 | 6.2 |
| Apr | 59 | 39 | 3.3 | 7 | 1.5 |
| May | 70 | 50 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 60 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 63 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 56 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 44 | 2.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 49 | 34 | 2.6 | 6 | 1.9 |
| Dec | 37 | 25 | 2.3 | 5 | 8.9 |
| Year | 59 | 42 | 34.4 | 74 | 45.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Detroit Metro Airport, MI (631 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 Flat Rock
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 156 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Flat Rock: 150 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 floods, 2 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 2 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $1.11 billion in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on September 11, 1996.
July 21, 1998: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Flat Rock — 2 killed, 2 injured, $825,000 damage.
May 23, 2004: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Flat Rock — 2 injured.
August 11, 2014: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Flat Rock — $1.10 billion 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 Flat Rock's ZIP code 48134 have filed 30 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $66,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 7% 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, 69 have fewer than Flat Rock.
Wayne County, which includes Flat Rock, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on February 8, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Wayne County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively High for heat waves; Relatively Low for hail and coastal flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $401.5 million a year, the highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $237.3 million (59%), 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.