NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Freeport, 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 Freeport, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 75 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 75
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Freeport
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Freeport; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 62 mph winds when its centre passed 29 miles away. The record near Freeport begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm 4 miles away. None of the 4 systems has come since 2000. Of the 546 Michigan cities on this site, 52% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Freeport. The highest rating among the 75 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 21, 1967, came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on April 11, 1965, killed 1 person. Of the 75, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 36 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 18. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Freeport has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 63% of the 546 Michigan cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 31 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 546 Michigan cities, 57% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Freeport.
Compare Freeport's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Freeport
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 4 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Freeport: 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 Freeport
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s13
- 2000s11
- 1990s6
- 1980s9
- 1970s9
- 1960s11(2 EF3+)
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 1967 | F3 | 16 mi | 13.6 mi | 0 / 32 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 7 mi | 14.1 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F3 | 8 mi | 60.6 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Nov 27, 1989 | F2 | 20 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 26, 1986 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 15, 1986 | F2 | 18 mi | 42.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 20, 1976 | F2 | 13 mi | 9.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 1975 | F2 | 19 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 5, 1968 | F2 | 8 mi | 52.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F2 | in town | 14.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 75, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Freeport
The Storm Prediction Center has 31 hail reports within 10 miles of Freeport since 1962, made on 23 separate days. Of these, 18 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on April 4, 2023. The most recent report is from June 20, 2024. May has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Freeport
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hastings, MI, 9 miles south of Freeport at 821 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 16°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 39.5 inches over 82 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 151 nights a year. Snowfall averages 68.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.5 inches is more than at 122 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (93%). Clarksville, 6 miles northeast, has its own station (Ionia 2SSW, MI): 36.0 inches a year, 3.5 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 16 | 2.6 | 7 | 21.5 |
| Feb | 34 | 16 | 2.1 | 5 | 15.3 |
| Mar | 44 | 24 | 2.5 | 6 | 7.2 |
| Apr | 57 | 34 | 3.8 | 8 | 2.1 |
| May | 69 | 45 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 55 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 59 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 57 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 50 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 39 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 47 | 30 | 2.9 | 7 | 5.4 |
| Dec | 35 | 22 | 2.5 | 7 | 16.2 |
| Year | 58 | 37 | 39.5 | 82 | 68.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hastings, MI (821 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 Freeport
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 82 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Freeport: 79 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 flash floods and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $16.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on September 11, 2019.
August 24, 2023: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Freeport — $10.0 million damage.
April 17, 2013: flood 9 miles from the centre of Freeport — $5.0 million damage.
July 28, 2011: flash flood in Freeport — $350,000 damage.
NWS: “The Barry county road commission indicated that there were numerous road closures and washouts. Radar indicates that six to eight inches of rain fell across northeast and east Barry county.”
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
Barry County, which includes Freeport, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 snowstorms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Barry County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $17.1 million a year, the 38th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.2 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.