NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Saginaw, 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 Saginaw, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Connie in 1955. Since 1950, 64 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 64
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
117 deaths in all
What the records show for Saginaw
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Saginaw; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 63 mph winds when its centre passed 1 mile away. The record near Saginaw begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was Connie in 1955, a tropical storm 71 miles away. None of the 5 systems has come since 2000. Saginaw has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 48% of the 546 Michigan cities on this site. The strongest of the 64 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 8, 1953; its path came within 23 miles, and it killed 116 people. Of the 64, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 22 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Of the 546 Michigan cities, 51% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Saginaw. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 67 times since 1963, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Saginaw has more hail reports within 10 miles than 78% of the 546 Michigan cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Saginaw
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | ConnieAug 14 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 4 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 12 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Saginaw: 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 Saginaw
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s6
- 2000s13
- 1990s16(3 EF3+)
- 1980s5(1 EF3+)
- 1970s11
- 1960s3
- 1950s7(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 1953 | F5 | 23 mi | 18.9 mi | 116 / 844 |
| Jul 2, 1997 | F3 | 25 mi | 1.7 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Jul 2, 1997 | F3 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1996 | F3 | 13 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 1984 | F3 | 11 mi | 48 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | EF2 | 17 mi | 11.27 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 31, 1999 | F2 | 20 mi | 1.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 1986 | F2 | 19 mi | 26.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 7, 1984 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1982 | F2 | in town | 19 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F2 | 20 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F2 | 10 mi | 9.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 64, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Saginaw
The Storm Prediction Center has 67 hail reports within 10 miles of Saginaw since 1963, made on 36 separate days. Of these, 29 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on September 2, 1984. The most recent report is from August 2, 2015. June has the most reports, 25.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Saginaw
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Saginaw #3, MI, 2 miles southeast of Saginaw at 600 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 16°F. April and May are the wettest at 3.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.9 inches; the year adds up to 34.0 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 143 nights a year. Snowfall averages 40.7 inches a year, most of it in January and December. That 34.0 inches is more than at 61 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (47%). Freeland, 10 miles northwest, has its own station (Saginaw Mbs International Airport, MI): 32.2 inches a year, 1.8 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 | 30 | 16 | 2.3 | 6 | 11.4 |
| Feb | 33 | 17 | 1.9 | 5 | 9.1 |
| Mar | 43 | 25 | 2.0 | 5 | 5.0 |
| Apr | 56 | 35 | 3.6 | 7 | 1.3 |
| May | 69 | 47 | 3.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 58 | 3.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 60 | 3.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 52 | 2.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 41 | 2.9 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 46 | 31 | 2.6 | 6 | 2.3 |
| Dec | 35 | 23 | 2.0 | 6 | 11.4 |
| Year | 58 | 39 | 34.0 | 75 | 40.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Saginaw #3, MI (600 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 Saginaw
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 154 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Saginaw: 147 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 floods and 1 flash flood. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $16.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on May 31, 1998.
June 6, 2008: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Saginaw — 2 injured, $200,000 damage.
NWS: “|A few large trees fell onto houses. Downed trees also blocked roads.”
November 5, 2005: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Saginaw — 1 injured.
NWS: “In the City of Saginaw on Emerson near Jefferson, a large tree, reportedly 6 feet in diameter, fell onto a man, trapping him under the branches. The man was not seriously injured.”
May 18, 2020: flood 1 mile from the centre of Saginaw — $9.0 million damage.
NWS: “32 feet during the evening of May 22nd. In Saginaw County, there were numerous structures that suffered flood 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 Saginaw's 6 ZIP codes have filed 706 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $10.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1986: 196 claims (28% of all) and $1.5 million. The year with the most claims was 2020, with 176. 29% 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, 157 have fewer than Saginaw.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1986 | 196 | $1.5 million |
Saginaw County, which includes Saginaw, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Saginaw County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hail and inland flooding; Relatively Low for lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $71.9 million a year, the 8th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $43.3 million (60%), 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 Saginaw
- Bridgeport, MI9 mi
- Freeland, MI10 mi
- Burt, MI12 mi
- Saint Charles, MI12 mi
- Hemlock, MI12 mi
- Bay City, MI13 mi
- Frankenmuth, MI13 mi
- Auburn, MI14 mi
- Birch Run, MI14 mi
- Essexville, MI15 mi
- Reese, MI15 mi
- Kawkawlin, MI17 mi
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