NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Inkster, 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 Inkster, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 90 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 90
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
49 deaths in all
What the records show for Inkster
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Inkster; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 3 miles away. The record near Inkster begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 5 systems, one has come since 2000. Inkster has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 48% of the 546 Michigan cities on this site. The highest rating among the 90 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 5 times; the most recent, on March 20, 1976, came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 11, 1965, killed 23 people. Of the 90, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 23 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Inkster has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 84% of the 546 Michigan cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 114 times since 1959, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Inkster has more hail reports within 10 miles than 93% of the 546 Michigan cities.
Compare Inkster's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Inkster
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 4 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 22 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 14 | 19 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 Inkster: 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 Inkster
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s10
- 2000s5
- 1990s6(1 EF3+)
- 1980s19(1 EF3+)
- 1970s23(2 EF3+)
- 1960s8(3 EF3+)
- 1950s11(4 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 17 mi | 90.3 mi | 23 / 294 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 17 mi | 80.5 mi | 21 / 293 |
| Mar 20, 1976 | F4 | 17 mi | 3.8 mi | 1 / 55 |
| Jul 4, 1957 | F4 | 16 mi | 29.9 mi | 0 / 6 |
| May 12, 1956 | F4 | 6 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 22 |
| Nov 20, 1957 | F3 | 13 mi | 1.5 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Jun 8, 1953 | F3 | 24 mi | 11.3 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Sep 14, 1990 | F3 | 13 mi | 24 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 2, 1983 | F3 | 22 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 2, 1972 | F3 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 1969 | F3 | 13 mi | 13.9 mi | 0 / 54 |
| Jun 21, 1987 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.3 mi | 1 / 6 |
The strongest 12 of 90, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Inkster
The Storm Prediction Center has 114 hail reports within 10 miles of Inkster since 1959, made on 64 separate days. Of these, 52 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 2, 1983. The most recent report is from July 20, 2023. May has the most reports, 35.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Inkster
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Detroit Metro Airport, MI, 4 miles south of Inkster 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%). Garden City, 3 miles northwest, has its own station (Dearborn, MI): 35.1 inches a year, 0.7 more than here, and the same July average high, 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 Inkster
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 279 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Inkster: 268 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 flash floods, 3 floods, 2 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 12, and the NWS estimated $94.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on March 28, 1998. July has had the most flash floods, 3 of 5. Of the 376 Michigan cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 280 have had fewer than Inkster.
September 5, 2014: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Inkster — 5 injured.
May 9, 2000: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Inkster — 3 injured, $755,000 damage.
May 23, 2004: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Inkster — 2 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Inkster's ZIP code 48141 have filed 10 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2002, and were paid $22,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 160 Michigan cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 0 have fewer than Inkster.
Wayne County, which includes Inkster, 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.