NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lake City, 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
1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Lake City, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 33 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 33
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Lake City
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Lake City; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 67 miles away. Of the 546 Michigan cities on this site, 85% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Lake City. The highest rating among the 33 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 8 times; the most recent, on October 18, 2007, came within 20 miles. Of the 33, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 5 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on July 18, 2010. Of the 546 Michigan cities, 76% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Lake City. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 19 times since 1984, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 546 Michigan cities, 84% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Lake City.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Lake City
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Lake City: 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 Lake City
By decade
- 2010s1
- 2000s4
- 1990s12
- 1980s4
- 1970s7
- 1960s4
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 18, 2007 | EF2 | 20 mi | 4.45 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F2 | 23 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 1976 | F2 | 14 mi | 3.3 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 10, 1974 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1974 | F2 | 19 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 25, 1973 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 3, 1964 | F2 | 5 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 31, 1963 | F2 | 14 mi | 19.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 1, 2002 | F1 | 25 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 27, 1995 | F1 | 19 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 5, 1994 | F1 | 22 mi | 2.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 30, 1993 | F1 | 24 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 33, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lake City
The Storm Prediction Center has 19 hail reports within 10 miles of Lake City since 1984, made on 17 separate days. Of these, 10 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on August 28, 1984. The most recent report is from May 11, 2022. May has the most reports, 5.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lake City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lake City Exp Farm, MI, 6 miles southwest of Lake City at 1,230 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 55°F; January is the coolest, at 27°F and 10°F. October is the wettest at 3.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 33.4 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 4 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 177 nights a year. Snowfall averages 74.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 33.4 inches is more than at 51 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (39%). Manton, 12 miles west, has its own station (Cadillac, MI): 35.3 inches a year, 1.9 more than here, and the same July average high, 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 10 | 1.9 | 5 | 18.7 |
| Feb | 30 | 10 | 1.5 | 4 | 13.9 |
| Mar | 41 | 17 | 1.9 | 5 | 9.4 |
| Apr | 53 | 29 | 3.5 | 8 | 5.2 |
| May | 66 | 41 | 3.5 | 8 | 0.3 |
| Jun | 76 | 51 | 3.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 55 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 53 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 45 | 3.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 57 | 35 | 3.7 | 9 | 1.4 |
| Nov | 43 | 26 | 2.5 | 6 | 9.0 |
| Dec | 33 | 18 | 1.9 | 5 | 16.1 |
| Year | 55 | 32 | 33.4 | 75 | 74.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lake City Exp Farm, MI (1,230 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 Lake City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 19 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lake City: 18 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 flash flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $378,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 31, 1998.
August 28, 2018: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Lake City — $140,000 damage.
NWS: “Power poles were snapped and many trees were downed, laying across roads near Lake Missaukee. Windows were damaged on some nearby businesses.”
June 8, 2007: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Lake City — $110,000 damage.
NWS: “Many large trees were downed in northern Missaukee County. Several structures and trailers were damaged by falling trees, especially in and just west of Moorestown.”
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
Missaukee County, which includes Lake City, 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 Missaukee County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hail, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $5.3 million a year, the 72nd highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.7 million (51%), 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 Lake City
- Manton, MI12 mi
- Mc Bain, MI12 mi
- Fife Lake, MI13 mi
- Cadillac, MI18 mi
- South Boardman, MI20 mi
- Houghton Lake, MI20 mi
- Marion, MI20 mi
- Kingsley, MI23 mi
- Tustin, MI23 mi
- Roscommon, MI25 mi
- Kalkaska, MI25 mi
- Prudenville, MI26 mi
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