NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rockford, 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 Rockford, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 63 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 63
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
22 deaths in all
What the records show for Rockford
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Rockford; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 61 mph winds when its centre passed 3 miles away. The record near Rockford begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm 21 miles away. None of the 4 systems has come since 2000. Of the 546 Michigan cities on this site, 52% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Rockford. The strongest of the 63 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1956; its path came within 4 miles, and it killed 17 people. Of the 63, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 28 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 11. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Of the 546 Michigan cities, 53% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Rockford. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 25 times since 1956, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 546 Michigan cities, 71% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Rockford.
Compare Rockford's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Rockford
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 4 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 3 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 Rockford: 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 Rockford
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s8
- 2000s10
- 1990s9
- 1980s2
- 1970s8
- 1960s11(3 EF3+)
- 1950s5(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1956 | F5 | 4 mi | 58.8 mi | 17 / 292 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 3 mi | 20.6 mi | 5 / 142 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F3 | 19 mi | 60.9 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F3 | 12 mi | 13.6 mi | 0 / 32 |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F3 | 16 mi | 60.6 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Jul 4, 1994 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 1975 | F2 | 21 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 9, 1968 | F2 | 7 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 5, 1968 | F2 | 13 mi | 52.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1966 | F2 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 22, 1961 | F2 | 13 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 63, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rockford
The Storm Prediction Center has 25 hail reports within 10 miles of Rockford since 1956. Of these, 11 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on August 1, 1993. The most recent report is from June 20, 2024. July has the most reports, 7.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rockford
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Greenville 2 NNE, MI, 15 miles northeast of Rockford at 882 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 56°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 13°F. May is the wettest at 4.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.9 inches; the year adds up to 36.6 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 14 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 162 nights a year. Snowfall averages 72.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 36.6 inches is more than at 101 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (77%). Belmont, 5 miles southwest, has its own station (Grand Rapids, MI): 39.4 inches a year, 2.8 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 13 | 2.2 | 6 | 20.3 |
| Feb | 34 | 13 | 1.9 | 5 | 16.5 |
| Mar | 46 | 22 | 2.4 | 6 | 9.4 |
| Apr | 59 | 32 | 3.9 | 7 | 2.5 |
| May | 71 | 44 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 53 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 56 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 55 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 48 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 37 | 3.5 | 8 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 48 | 27 | 3.0 | 6 | 5.0 |
| Dec | 36 | 19 | 2.4 | 6 | 18.8 |
| Year | 59 | 35 | 36.6 | 76 | 72.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Greenville 2 NNE, MI (882 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 Rockford
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 57 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rockford: 55 thunderstorm wind reports, 1 flash flood and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $11.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 31, 1998.
August 24, 2023: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Rockford — $10.0 million damage.
May 31, 2010: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Rockford — $210,000 damage.
May 18, 2020: flood 8 miles from the centre of Rockford — $200,000 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 Rockford's ZIP code 49341 have filed 14 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1986, and were paid $297,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 21% 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, 19 have fewer than Rockford.
Kent County, which includes Rockford, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 3 severe storms, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on February 8, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Kent County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for tornadoes and inland flooding; Relatively Moderate for hail, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $147.1 million a year, the 4th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $89.1 million (61%), 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.