NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Manistee, 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 Manistee, Michigan since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 5 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 5
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Manistee
The strongest of the 5 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 3, 1956; its path came within 10 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 5, 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 on this site, 97% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Manistee. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 19 times since 1973, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 546 Michigan cities, 84% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Manistee.
Compare Manistee's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Manistee
By decade
- 2000s2
- 1980s1
- 1960s1
- 1950s1(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1956 | F4 | 10 mi | 50.3 mi | 1 / 25 |
| Jun 12, 2008 | EF1 | 12 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1985 | F1 | 23 mi | 6.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 2008 | EF0 | 6 mi | 1.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 1966 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 5 of 5, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Manistee
The Storm Prediction Center has 19 hail reports within 10 miles of Manistee since 1973, made on 13 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 April 27, 2024. The most recent report is from April 18, 2025. May has the most reports, 5.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Manistee
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Manistee 3SE, MI, 2 miles southwest of Manistee 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%). Bear Lake, 16 miles northeast, has its own station (Beulah 7SSW, MI): 36.4 inches a year, the same as 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 Manistee
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 41 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Manistee: 33 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 flash floods and 3 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $8.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on May 12, 2000. Of the 376 Michigan cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 280 have had fewer than Manistee.
July 20, 2019: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Manistee — $3.5 million damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorms moved repeatedly over Manistee County in the morning and afternoon of the 20th. Excessive rainfall produced substantial flooding across central and southern Manistee County.”
April 17, 2013: flood 10 miles from the centre of Manistee — $3.0 million damage.
NWS: “Significant flooding occurred on rivers and streams across Mason county due to significant rainfall from early to mid April.”
June 12, 2008: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Manistee — $970,000 damage.
NWS: “Spotters in Manistee and Wellston measured around six inches of rain in a few hours very late on the 12th into the pre-dawn hours of the 13th. Radar estimated up to ten inches of rainfall along the southern border of Manistee County.”
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 Manistee's ZIP code 49660 have filed 12 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981, and were paid $93,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 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, 11 have fewer than Manistee.
Manistee County, which includes Manistee, has been named in 8 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 4 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 1 drought, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Manistee County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding and strong wind; 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 $9.4 million a year, the 55th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.6 million (70%), 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 Manistee
- Bear Lake, MI16 mi
- Scottville, MI20 mi
- Ludington, MI20 mi
- Benzonia, MI26 mi
- Thompsonville, MI26 mi
- Frankfort, MI28 mi
- Mesick, MI30 mi
- Baldwin, MI30 mi
- Beulah, MI30 mi
- Luther, MI31 mi
- Pentwater, MI31 mi
- Buckley, MI35 mi
All Michigan cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Manistee with another place →