NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rockwood, 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 Rockwood, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 74 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 74
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
50 deaths in all
What the records show for Rockwood
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Rockwood; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1892, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 10 miles away. The record near Rockwood begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm 18 miles away. Of the 5 systems, one has come since 2000. Rockwood has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 48% of the 546 Michigan cities on this site. The highest rating among the 74 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 11, 1965, came within 13 miles. Of the 74, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 24 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Rockwood has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 61% of the 546 Michigan cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 62 times since 1959, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Rockwood has more hail reports within 10 miles than 75% of the 546 Michigan cities.
Compare Rockwood's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Rockwood
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 4 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 22 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 14 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Rockwood: 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 Rockwood
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s13
- 2000s2
- 1990s4
- 1980s9
- 1970s19(1 EF3+)
- 1960s11(4 EF3+)
- 1950s7(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 13 mi | 90.3 mi | 23 / 294 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 13 mi | 80.5 mi | 21 / 293 |
| Jun 8, 1953 | F4 | 24 mi | 5.4 mi | 4 / 18 |
| May 12, 1956 | F4 | 12 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 22 |
| Nov 20, 1957 | F3 | 23 mi | 1.5 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 25 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 4, 1969 | F3 | 4 mi | 13.9 mi | 0 / 54 |
| Apr 17, 1963 | F3 | 12 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 6, 2010 | EF2 | 18 mi | 13.01 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Sep 13, 2008 | EF2 | 24 mi | 2.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 1997 | F2 | 22 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 90 |
| Aug 30, 1984 | F2 | 22 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 74, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rockwood
The Storm Prediction Center has 62 hail reports within 10 miles of Rockwood since 1959, made on 41 separate days. Of these, 28 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on May 23, 1962. The most recent report is from July 14, 2023. July has the most reports, 19.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rockwood
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Newport 4SSE, MI, 9 miles south of Rockwood at 578 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. May and August are the wettest at 3.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 33.2 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 125 nights a year. Snowfall averages 41.2 inches a year, most of it in February. That 33.2 inches is more than at 46 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (35%). Flat Rock, 4 miles northwest, has its own station (Detroit Metro Airport, MI): 34.4 inches a year, 1.2 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 18 | 2.1 | 6 | 12.4 |
| Feb | 34 | 19 | 1.8 | 5 | 13.5 |
| Mar | 43 | 27 | 2.4 | 6 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 56 | 37 | 2.9 | 7 | 0.6 |
| May | 68 | 48 | 3.6 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 58 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 3.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 60 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 54 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 43 | 2.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 48 | 33 | 2.5 | 6 | 1.0 |
| Dec | 37 | 25 | 2.1 | 6 | 8.2 |
| Year | 58 | 40 | 33.2 | 75 | 41.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Newport 4SSE, MI (578 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 Rockwood
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 99 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rockwood: 96 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 floods and 1 flash flood. They killed 2 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $1.11 billion in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on September 11, 1996.
July 21, 1998: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Rockwood — 2 killed, 2 injured, $825,000 damage.
August 11, 2014: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Rockwood — $1.10 billion damage.
July 21, 1998: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Rockwood — $4.5 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 Rockwood's ZIP code 48173 have filed 753 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $3.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1985: 347 claims (46% of all) and $1.3 million. 46% 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, 159 have fewer than Rockwood.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1985 | 347 | $1.3 million |
Wayne County, which includes Rockwood, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on February 8, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Wayne County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively High for heat waves; Relatively Low for hail and coastal flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $401.5 million a year, the highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $237.3 million (59%), 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.