NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Niles, 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 Niles, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 98 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 98
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
79 deaths in all
What the records show for Niles
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Niles; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 58 miles away. The record near Niles begins with an unnamed storm in 1923; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 4 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 546 Michigan cities on this site, 52% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Niles. The highest rating among the 98 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 11, 1965, came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 11, 1965, killed 36 people. Of the 98, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 34 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 28. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Niles has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 93% of the 546 Michigan cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 84 times since 1956, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Niles has more hail reports within 10 miles than 83% of the 546 Michigan cities.
Compare Niles's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Niles
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Niles: 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 Niles
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s14
- 2000s12(1 EF3+)
- 1990s8
- 1980s12
- 1970s15
- 1960s19(5 EF3+)
- 1950s10
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 17 mi | 37 mi | 36 / 321 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 22 mi | 21.2 mi | 31 / 252 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 19 mi | 35.6 mi | 10 / 82 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F3 | 5 mi | 47 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Nov 26, 1965 | F3 | 16 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1962 | F3 | 8 mi | 36.5 mi | 0 / 49 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F2 | 17 mi | 35 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 12 mi | 2.73 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 15 mi | 3.38 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F2 | 14 mi | 4.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 25, 1998 | F2 | in town | 26 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1992 | F2 | 14 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 25 |
The strongest 12 of 98, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Niles
The Storm Prediction Center has 84 hail reports within 10 miles of Niles since 1956, made on 59 separate days. Of these, 43 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on April 17, 1963. The most recent report is from May 7, 2024. June has the most reports, 23.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Niles
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Niles, MI, 2 miles northwest of Niles at 650 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 19°F. August and October are the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 41.5 inches over 87 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 124 nights a year. Snowfall averages 62.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 41.5 inches is more than at 128 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (98%). Notre Dame, IN, 9 miles south, has its own station (South Bend Michiana Regional Airport, IN): 39.3 inches a year, 2.2 less than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 19 | 3.0 | 8 | 22.6 |
| Feb | 36 | 21 | 2.3 | 6 | 13.6 |
| Mar | 47 | 29 | 2.5 | 7 | 6.3 |
| Apr | 60 | 39 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.8 |
| May | 71 | 48 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 61 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 61 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 53 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 43 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 49 | 33 | 3.0 | 7 | 4.6 |
| Dec | 38 | 25 | 2.7 | 8 | 14.5 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 41.5 | 87 | 62.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Niles, MI (650 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 Niles
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 212 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Niles: 193 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 flash floods, 7 floods, 3 lightning strikes and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $8.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on June 5, 2010. Of the 376 Michigan cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 314 have had fewer than Niles.
August 3, 2022: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Niles — 1 killed.
September 5, 2014: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Niles — 1 injured.
May 18, 1997: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Niles — $4.0 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 Niles's ZIP code 49120 have filed 28 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $339,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 7% 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, 64 have fewer than Niles.
Berrien County, which includes Niles, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 27, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Berrien County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $45.1 million a year, the 14th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $27.1 million (60%), 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.