NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Harbor Springs, 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 Harbor Springs, Michigan since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 7 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 7
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Harbor Springs
The highest rating among the 7 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 5 times; the most recent, on August 1, 2002, came within 22 miles. Of the 7, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and one has come since 2000. Of the 546 Michigan cities on this site, 96% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Harbor Springs. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 9 times since 1983, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 546 Michigan cities, 98% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Harbor Springs.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Harbor Springs
By decade
- 2000s1
- 1980s1
- 1970s1
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 1, 2002 | F1 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 1957 | F1 | 3 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 1955 | F1 | 23 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1955 | F1 | 9 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 1953 | F1 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 18, 1987 | F0 | 9 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 2, 1970 | F0 | 22 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 7 of 7, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Harbor Springs
The Storm Prediction Center has 9 hail reports within 10 miles of Harbor Springs since 1983, made on 7 separate days. Of these, 4 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on June 24, 1998. The most recent report is from September 21, 2012.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Harbor Springs
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Petoskey, MI, 9 miles south of Harbor Springs at 599 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 75°F and low of 59°F; February is the coolest, at 28°F and 14°F. October is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.7 inches; the year adds up to 34.2 inches over 86 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 2 days a year. Lows fall below freezing on about 147 nights a year. Snowfall averages 123.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 34.2 inches is more than at 66 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (50%). Petoskey, 10 miles south, has its own station (Petoskey Ncmc, MI): 36.7 inches a year, 2.5 more than here, and a July average high of 76°F against 75°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Mackinaw City, MI, 23 miles northeast, averaged 69°F in August and 33°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 15 | 2.4 | 9 | 39.3 | 33 |
| Feb | 28 | 14 | 1.7 | 6 | 27.2 | 33 |
| Mar | 37 | 20 | 1.9 | 5 | 12.2 | 34 |
| Apr | 48 | 32 | 2.9 | 7 | 4.5 | 40 |
| May | 61 | 43 | 3.1 | 7 | 0.1 | 49 |
| Jun | 70 | 53 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.0 | 58 |
| Jul | 75 | 59 | 2.5 | 6 | 0.0 | 68 |
| Aug | 75 | 59 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 | 69 |
| Sep | 69 | 51 | 3.6 | 8 | 0.0 | 64 |
| Oct | 56 | 41 | 4.5 | 10 | 0.3 | 56 |
| Nov | 44 | 32 | 3.0 | 9 | 9.4 | 45 |
| Dec | 34 | 23 | 2.4 | 10 | 30.6 | 36 |
| Year | 52 | 37 | 34.2 | 86 | 123.6 | 49 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Petoskey, MI (599 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Mackinaw City, MI, from NOAA Tides & Currents. 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 Harbor Springs
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 24 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Harbor Springs: 20 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 flash floods, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $438,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on July 31, 1999.
July 18, 2020: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Harbor Springs — $135,000 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
Emmet County, which includes Harbor Springs, 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 Emmet County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, hail, coastal flooding, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.8 million a year, the 49th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.7 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.
Cities near Harbor Springs
- Petoskey, MI10 mi
- Alanson, MI11 mi
- Charlevoix, MI19 mi
- Boyne City, MI20 mi
- Indian River, MI20 mi
- Boyne Falls, MI21 mi
- Wolverine, MI25 mi
- East Jordan, MI26 mi
- Cheboygan, MI26 mi
- Saint Ignace, MI32 mi
- Elmira, MI33 mi
- Central Lake, MI33 mi
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