NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Reading, 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 Reading, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 70 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 70
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
53 deaths in all
What the records show for Reading
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Reading; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 14 miles away. The record near Reading begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 5 systems, one has come since 2000. Reading has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 48% of the 546 Michigan cities on this site. The highest rating among the 70 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 11, 1965, came within 2 miles. Of the 70, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 22 have come since 2000. April and May have had the most tornadoes, 15 each. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Reading has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 56% of the 546 Michigan cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 44 times since 1973, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Reading has more hail reports within 10 miles than 60% of the 546 Michigan cities.
Compare Reading's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Reading
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Reading: 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 Reading
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s5
- 2000s8
- 1990s4(2 EF3+)
- 1980s10(1 EF3+)
- 1970s14(1 EF3+)
- 1960s16(3 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 2 mi | 90.3 mi | 23 / 294 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | in town | 80.5 mi | 21 / 293 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 10 mi | 36.2 mi | 5 / 53 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F3 | 10 mi | 21 mi | 1 / 24 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F3 | 12 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 1986 | F3 | 13 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 1961 | F3 | 19 mi | 33.4 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 8 mi | 19.3 mi | 2 / 31 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F2 | 25 mi | 12.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 25, 1984 | F2 | 18 mi | 2.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 30, 1983 | F2 | 15 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 1977 | F2 | 12 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 70, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Reading
The Storm Prediction Center has 44 hail reports within 10 miles of Reading since 1973, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 21 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 2 days, most recently April 12, 1996. The most recent report is from May 7, 2024. May has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Reading
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hillsdale, MI, 9 miles northeast of Reading at 1,080 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 15°F. May is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 39.6 inches over 80 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 148 nights a year. Snowfall averages 44.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.6 inches is more than at 123 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (94%). Montgomery, 6 miles southwest, has its own station (Angola, IN): 38.9 inches a year, 0.7 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 15 | 2.8 | 6 | 13.3 |
| Feb | 34 | 16 | 2.3 | 6 | 11.5 |
| Mar | 44 | 25 | 2.4 | 6 | 5.2 |
| Apr | 58 | 35 | 3.7 | 8 | 1.5 |
| May | 69 | 47 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 57 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 60 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 58 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 50 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 40 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 47 | 30 | 3.0 | 7 | 3.4 |
| Dec | 36 | 22 | 2.4 | 6 | 9.1 |
| Year | 58 | 38 | 39.6 | 80 | 44.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hillsdale, MI (1,080 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 Reading
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 118 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Reading: 117 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 7, 2010.
May 18, 1997: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Reading — 1 injured, $50,000 damage.
March 10, 2009: flood 9 miles from the centre of Reading — $500,000 damage.
August 25, 1998: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Reading — $100,000 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
Hillsdale County, which includes Reading, has been named in 9 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 3 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 27, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Hillsdale County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $13.5 million a year, the 45th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.7 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.