NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rapid City, 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 Rapid City, Michigan since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 26 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 26
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Rapid City
The strongest of the 26 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 3, 1956; its path came within 18 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an EF3 on May 20, 2022, killed 2 people. Of the 26, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 8 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 7. The most recent tornado was on September 22, 2025. Of the 546 Michigan cities on this site, 82% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Rapid City. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 17 times since 1989, with stones up to 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size). Of the 546 Michigan cities, 88% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Rapid City.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Rapid City
By decade
- 2020s3(1 EF3+)
- 2010s3
- 2000s2
- 1990s6
- 1980s2
- 1970s5(1 EF3+)
- 1960s3(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1956 | F4 | 18 mi | 50.3 mi | 1 / 25 |
| May 20, 2022 | EF3 | 22 mi | 17.54 mi | 2 / 44 |
| Jul 3, 1974 | F3 | 19 mi | 11.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 26, 1969 | F3 | 14 mi | 6.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 18, 2007 | EF2 | 9 mi | 4.45 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Jul 31, 1977 | F2 | 15 mi | 19.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 1976 | F2 | 18 mi | 3.3 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 8, 1964 | F2 | 8 mi | 16.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 13, 1961 | F2 | 4 mi | 14.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 22, 2025 | EF1 | 11 mi | 0.85 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 1, 2014 | EF1 | 13 mi | 4.02 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1998 | F1 | 7 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 26, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rapid City
The Storm Prediction Center has 17 hail reports within 10 miles of Rapid City since 1989, made on 14 separate days. Of these, 9 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size), fell on October 15, 1989. The most recent report is from July 10, 2019. May has the most reports, 5.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rapid City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Kalkaska, MI, 9 miles southeast of Rapid City at 1,035 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 79°F and low of 55°F; January is the coolest, at 26°F and 11°F. October is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 33.8 inches over 83 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 4 days a year, almost all from June to July. Lows fall below freezing on about 179 nights a year. Snowfall averages 132.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 33.8 inches is more than at 58 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (44%). Williamsburg, 8 miles southwest, has its own station (Traverse City Cherry Cptl Airport, MI): 29.2 inches a year, 4.6 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 79°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26 | 11 | 2.0 | 6 | 38.3 |
| Feb | 28 | 10 | 1.5 | 5 | 24.8 |
| Mar | 38 | 16 | 1.7 | 5 | 13.7 |
| Apr | 51 | 29 | 2.9 | 7 | 6.8 |
| May | 65 | 41 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.7 |
| Jun | 75 | 51 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 79 | 55 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 77 | 54 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 70 | 46 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 56 | 37 | 4.2 | 10 | 1.0 |
| Nov | 42 | 27 | 2.9 | 9 | 17.1 |
| Dec | 31 | 18 | 2.2 | 7 | 29.7 |
| Year | 53 | 33 | 33.8 | 83 | 132.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Kalkaska, MI (1,035 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 Rapid City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 49 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rapid City: 47 thunderstorm wind reports and 2 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 31, 1998.
August 11, 2021: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Rapid City — 1 injured, $325,000 damage.
August 2, 2015: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Rapid City — $600,000 damage.
August 2, 2015: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Rapid City — $540,000 damage.
NWS: “A swath of widespread wind damage continued across northern Kalkaska County. Hundreds of trees were downed, damaging vehicles and structures as they fell.”
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
Kalkaska County, which includes Rapid City, has been named in 7 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 3 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought, 1 flood, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Kalkaska County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $6.5 million a year, the 66th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.1 million (48%), 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 Rapid City
- Williamsburg, MI8 mi
- Elk Rapids, MI8 mi
- Bellaire, MI10 mi
- Kalkaska, MI11 mi
- South Boardman, MI12 mi
- Kewadin, MI13 mi
- Mancelona, MI13 mi
- Traverse City, MI16 mi
- Central Lake, MI17 mi
- Fife Lake, MI19 mi
- Suttons Bay, MI21 mi
- Kingsley, MI22 mi
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