NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Portage, 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 Portage, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 75 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 75
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Portage
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Portage; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 61 mph winds when its centre passed 63 miles away. The record near Portage begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm 60 miles away. Of the 5 systems, one has come since 2000. Portage has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 48% of the 546 Michigan cities on this site. The strongest of the 75 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 2, 1977; its path came within 5 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 13, 1980, killed 5 people. Of the 75, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 28 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 24. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Portage has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 63% of the 546 Michigan cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 77 times since 1968, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Portage has more hail reports within 10 miles than 81% of the 546 Michigan cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Portage
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 63 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 Portage: 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 Portage
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s5
- 2000s14(1 EF3+)
- 1990s6
- 1980s12(2 EF3+)
- 1970s13(1 EF3+)
- 1960s8(1 EF3+)
- 1950s8(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2, 1977 | F4 | 5 mi | 12.4 mi | 0 / 10 |
| May 13, 1980 | F3 | 5 mi | 10.6 mi | 5 / 79 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F3 | 10 mi | 47 mi | 1 / 2 |
| May 13, 1980 | F3 | 13 mi | 21 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 11 mi | 14.2 mi | 0 / 17 |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F3 | 23 mi | 60.6 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Aug 6, 2024 | EF2 | 15 mi | 8.46 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 2024 | EF2 | in town | 10.86 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 7, 2024 | EF2 | 20 mi | 19.53 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 19, 2009 | EF2 | 13 mi | 0.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 2009 | EF2 | 24 mi | 5.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2001 | F2 | 13 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 75, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Portage
The Storm Prediction Center has 77 hail reports within 10 miles of Portage since 1968, made on 63 separate days. Of these, 40 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on March 27, 1991. The most recent report is from May 7, 2024. May has the most reports, 20.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Portage
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Kalamazoo Battle Ck International Airport, MI, 3 miles northeast of Portage at 868 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 18°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 129 nights a year. That 33.3 inches is more than at 48 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (37%). Climax, 13 miles east, has its own station (Battle Creek Kellogg Airport, MI): 31.6 inches a year, 1.7 less than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 18 | 1.7 | 4 |
| Feb | 35 | 20 | 1.3 | 4 |
| Mar | 46 | 27 | 2.0 | 5 |
| Apr | 59 | 38 | 3.1 | 7 |
| May | 70 | 49 | 3.7 | 9 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Aug | 81 | 60 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Sep | 74 | 53 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Oct | 61 | 42 | 3.7 | 7 |
| Nov | 48 | 33 | 2.5 | 6 |
| Dec | 37 | 24 | 1.7 | 4 |
| Year | 59 | 40 | 33.3 | 69 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Kalamazoo Battle Ck International Airport, MI (868 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 Portage
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 129 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Portage: 122 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 flash floods, 2 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 10, and the NWS estimated $21.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on October 24, 2001.
April 26, 2011: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Portage — 9 injured.
NWS: “Nine people were injured when lightning struck a soccer field in Portage at Westfield Park. The injured were a mix of adults and students who ranged in age from 12 to 41.”
May 18, 1997: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Portage — 1 injured, $500,000 damage.
September 13, 2008: flood 9 miles from the centre of Portage — $11.0 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 Portage's 2 ZIP codes have filed 17 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2001, and were paid $112,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 12% 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, 40 have fewer than Portage.
Kalamazoo County, which includes Portage, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Kalamazoo County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $55.1 million a year, the 11th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $27.4 million (50%), 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 Portage
- Kalamazoo, MI5 mi
- Schoolcraft, MI8 mi
- Vicksburg, MI8 mi
- Scotts, MI9 mi
- Mattawan, MI10 mi
- Galesburg, MI11 mi
- Climax, MI13 mi
- Lawton, MI14 mi
- Richland, MI14 mi
- Augusta, MI15 mi
- Paw Paw, MI16 mi
- Mendon, MI16 mi
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