NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ludington, 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 Ludington, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 8 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 8
- 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 Ludington
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Ludington; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 61 mph winds when its centre passed 65 miles away. Of the 546 Michigan cities on this site, 85% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Ludington. The highest rating among the 8 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 28, 1991, came within 17 miles. Of the 8, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on June 12, 2008. Of the 546 Michigan cities, 95% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Ludington. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 16 times since 1969, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 546 Michigan cities, 90% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Ludington.
Compare Ludington's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Ludington
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Ludington: 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 Ludington
By decade
- 2000s2
- 1990s1
- 1970s4
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 1991 | F2 | 17 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 12, 1972 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jun 12, 2008 | EF1 | 10 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 30, 1977 | F1 | 14 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 12, 1972 | F1 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 12, 1972 | F1 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 2008 | EF0 | 22 mi | 1.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 1966 | F0 | 8 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 8 of 8, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ludington
The Storm Prediction Center has 16 hail reports within 10 miles of Ludington since 1969, made on 15 separate days. Of these, 9 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 3, 2012. The most recent report is from May 3, 2012. May has the most reports, 4.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ludington
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Manistee 3SE, MI, 18 miles north of Ludington at 670 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 19°F. October is the wettest at 4.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 36.4 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 3 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 140 nights a year. That 36.4 inches is more than at 99 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (76%). Pentwater, 12 miles south, has its own station (Hart 3 WSW, MI): 39.0 inches a year, 2.6 more than here, and the same July average high, 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 19 | 2.2 | 7 |
| Feb | 33 | 19 | 1.6 | 5 |
| Mar | 42 | 25 | 2.2 | 5 |
| Apr | 55 | 35 | 3.4 | 8 |
| May | 67 | 45 | 3.3 | 7 |
| Jun | 76 | 54 | 3.8 | 7 |
| Jul | 80 | 59 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Aug | 78 | 59 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Sep | 72 | 52 | 3.3 | 7 |
| Oct | 59 | 42 | 4.1 | 8 |
| Nov | 46 | 33 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Dec | 35 | 24 | 2.7 | 8 |
| Year | 56 | 39 | 36.4 | 81 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Manistee 3SE, MI (670 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 Ludington
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 43 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ludington: 40 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 flash floods and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $6.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on April 12, 2014.
May 31, 1998: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Ludington — 5 injured, $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Michigan Department of State Police - Emergency Management Division's (EMD's) Damage and Injury Assessment Report indicated $398,000 in public damage costs, 66 homes damaged, 3 homes destroyed, and 4 businesses damaged. Five injuries were reported, one of which required hospitilization.”
June 13, 2008: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Ludington — $3.5 million damage.
NWS: “S. 31 from Manistee to Scottville when the road washed out.”
April 12, 2014: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Ludington — $500,000 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
Mason County, which includes Ludington, has been named in 9 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 severe storms, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 27, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Mason County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, coastal flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $6.5 million a year, the 65th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.4 million (67%), 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 Ludington
- Scottville, MI7 mi
- Pentwater, MI12 mi
- Hart, MI19 mi
- Manistee, MI20 mi
- Shelby, MI25 mi
- Baldwin, MI28 mi
- New Era, MI29 mi
- Hesperia, MI31 mi
- Rothbury, MI32 mi
- Bear Lake, MI36 mi
- Montague, MI37 mi
- Luther, MI37 mi
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