NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lowell, 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 Lowell, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 87 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 87
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
23 deaths in all
What the records show for Lowell
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Lowell; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 62 mph winds when its centre passed 17 miles away. The record near Lowell begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm 6 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 Lowell. The strongest of the 87 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1956; its path came within 19 miles, and it killed 17 people. Of the 87, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 36 have come since 2000. April and May have had the most tornadoes, 15 each. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Lowell has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 81% of the 546 Michigan cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 43 times since 1961, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Lowell has more hail reports within 10 miles than 60% of the 546 Michigan cities.
Compare Lowell's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Lowell
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 4 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 17 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 Lowell: 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 Lowell
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s12
- 2000s11
- 1990s13
- 1980s7
- 1970s10
- 1960s16(4 EF3+)
- 1950s5(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1956 | F5 | 19 mi | 58.8 mi | 17 / 292 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 18 mi | 20.6 mi | 5 / 142 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F3 | 17 mi | 60.9 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F3 | 8 mi | 13.6 mi | 0 / 32 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 18 mi | 14.1 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F3 | 1 mi | 60.6 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Jul 4, 1994 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 27, 1989 | F2 | 23 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 20, 1976 | F2 | 13 mi | 9.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 1975 | F2 | 18 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 9, 1968 | F2 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 5, 1968 | F2 | 4 mi | 52.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 87, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lowell
The Storm Prediction Center has 43 hail reports within 10 miles of Lowell since 1961, made on 35 separate days. Of these, 24 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on August 1, 1993. The most recent report is from June 20, 2024. May and June have the most reports, 9 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lowell
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Grand Rapids, MI, 11 miles west of Lowell at 778 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 19°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 133 nights a year. Snowfall averages 77.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.4 inches is more than at 121 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (92%). Saranac, 7 miles east, has its own station (Ionia 2SSW, MI): 36.0 inches a year, 3.4 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 19 | 2.5 | 7 | 22.6 |
| Feb | 34 | 20 | 2.1 | 6 | 17.2 |
| Mar | 45 | 27 | 2.4 | 6 | 7.6 |
| Apr | 58 | 37 | 4.0 | 8 | 2.0 |
| May | 70 | 49 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 58 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 63 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 61 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 53 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 42 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 47 | 33 | 3.1 | 7 | 7.1 |
| Dec | 36 | 25 | 2.5 | 7 | 20.8 |
| Year | 58 | 40 | 39.4 | 81 | 77.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Grand Rapids, MI (778 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 Lowell
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 70 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lowell: 69 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $12.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on September 11, 2019.
July 28, 2000: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Lowell — 1 killed, 1 injured, $20,000 damage.
June 21, 2011: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Lowell — 4 injured.
August 24, 2023: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Lowell — $10.0 million 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 Lowell's ZIP code 49331 have filed 36 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981, and were paid $279,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2013, with 23. 8% 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, 80 have fewer than Lowell.
Kent County, which includes Lowell, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 3 severe storms, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on February 8, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Kent County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for tornadoes and inland flooding; Relatively Moderate for hail, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $147.1 million a year, the 4th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $89.1 million (61%), 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 Lowell
- Ada, MI7 mi
- Saranac, MI7 mi
- Alto, MI8 mi
- Clarksville, MI9 mi
- Belding, MI11 mi
- Freeport, MI13 mi
- Ionia, MI15 mi
- Caledonia, MI15 mi
- Rockford, MI15 mi
- Grand Rapids, MI15 mi
- Lake Odessa, MI15 mi
- Belmont, MI15 mi
All Michigan cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Lowell with another place →