NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Owosso, 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
5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Owosso, 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, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 98
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
123 deaths in all
What the records show for Owosso
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Owosso; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 63 mph winds when its centre passed 27 miles away. The record near Owosso begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm 62 miles away. Of the 5 systems, one has come since 2000. Owosso has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 48% of the 546 Michigan cities on this site. The strongest of the 98 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 8, 1953; its path came within 18 miles, and it killed 116 people. Of the 98, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 36 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 24. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Owosso has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 93% of the 546 Michigan cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 27 times since 1990, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 546 Michigan cities, 66% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Owosso.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Owosso
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 4 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Owosso: 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 Owosso
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s16
- 2000s13
- 1990s14
- 1980s15(1 EF3+)
- 1970s16
- 1960s5(2 EF3+)
- 1950s12(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 1953 | F5 | 18 mi | 18.9 mi | 116 / 844 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 5 mi | 21 mi | 1 / 8 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 20 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Aug 8, 1984 | F3 | 24 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 2023 | EF2 | 24 mi | 12.02 mi | 2 / 4 |
| Oct 18, 2007 | EF2 | 13 mi | 19 mi | 2 / 1 |
| Jun 11, 1968 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 12, 1956 | F2 | 24 mi | 3.8 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Mar 14, 2019 | EF2 | 8 mi | 18.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 2013 | EF2 | 23 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 2007 | EF2 | 21 mi | 23.52 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 21, 2003 | F2 | 23 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 98, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Owosso
The Storm Prediction Center has 27 hail reports within 10 miles of Owosso since 1990, made on 26 separate days. Of these, 10 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 12, 2021. The most recent report is from August 11, 2023. June has the most reports, 10.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Owosso
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Owosso Wwtp, MI, 1 mile north of Owosso at 730 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 16°F. May is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 34.5 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 8 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 149 nights a year. Snowfall averages 38.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 34.5 inches is more than at 72 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (55%). Corunna, 6 miles east, has its own station (Corunna 2 NE, MI): 33.7 inches a year, 0.8 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 16 | 2.1 | 5 | 12.4 |
| Feb | 33 | 16 | 1.8 | 5 | 8.9 |
| Mar | 43 | 24 | 2.0 | 5 | 4.0 |
| Apr | 57 | 35 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.8 |
| May | 69 | 46 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 56 | 3.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 60 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 51 | 2.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 40 | 3.2 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 47 | 31 | 2.4 | 6 | 2.1 |
| Dec | 36 | 23 | 2.0 | 6 | 9.9 |
| Year | 57 | 38 | 34.5 | 73 | 38.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Owosso Wwtp, MI (730 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 Owosso
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 94 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Owosso: 88 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 flash floods, 2 lightning strikes and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $9.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 89 mph, on May 31, 1998.
May 4, 2012: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Owosso — $7.1 million damage.
NWS: “Four to seven inches of rain falling in less than 12 hours lead to extensive flooding. 62 inches.”
May 4, 2012: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Owosso — $1.1 million damage.
NWS: “Several roads were closed due to flooding as well as bridges being reported washed out.”
May 31, 1998: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Owosso — $630,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Owosso's ZIP code 48867 have filed 54 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981, and were paid $97,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1981: 19 claims (35% of all) and $12,000. 35% 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, 103 have fewer than Owosso.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1981 | 19 | $12,000 |
Shiawassee County, which includes Owosso, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 3 severe storms, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 27, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Shiawassee County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $22.1 million a year, the 31st highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.5 million (34%), 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 Owosso
- Corunna, MI6 mi
- Ovid, MI10 mi
- Bancroft, MI10 mi
- Morrice, MI10 mi
- Durand, MI11 mi
- Laingsburg, MI12 mi
- Lennon, MI12 mi
- Elsie, MI12 mi
- Perry, MI13 mi
- New Lothrop, MI14 mi
- Chesaning, MI14 mi
- Byron, MI17 mi
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