NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Saranac, 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 Saranac, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 76 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 76
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
23 deaths in all
What the records show for Saranac
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Saranac; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 62 mph winds when its centre passed 19 miles away. The record near Saranac begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm directly overhead. 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 Saranac. The strongest of the 76 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1956; its path came within 24 miles, and it killed 17 people. Of the 76, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 33 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Saranac has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 65% of the 546 Michigan cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 30 times since 1968, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 546 Michigan cities, 59% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Saranac.
Compare Saranac's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Saranac
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | overhead | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 4 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Saranac: 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 Saranac
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s11
- 2000s10
- 1990s11
- 1980s7
- 1970s7
- 1960s13(5 EF3+)
- 1950s5(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1956 | F5 | 24 mi | 58.8 mi | 17 / 292 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 22 mi | 20.6 mi | 5 / 142 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 21 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F3 | 13 mi | 60.9 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F3 | 15 mi | 13.6 mi | 0 / 32 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 13 mi | 14.1 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F3 | 6 mi | 60.6 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Jul 4, 1994 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 27, 1989 | F2 | 16 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 20, 1976 | F2 | 7 mi | 9.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 1975 | F2 | 24 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 5, 1968 | F2 | 5 mi | 52.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 76, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Saranac
The Storm Prediction Center has 30 hail reports within 10 miles of Saranac since 1968, made on 25 separate days. Of these, 15 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on June 11, 1968. 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 Saranac
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ionia 2SSW, MI, 7 miles east of Saranac at 805 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 29°F and 16°F. May is the wettest at 4.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.7 inches; the year adds up to 36.0 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 148 nights a year. Snowfall averages 54.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 36.0 inches is more than at 92 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (70%). Lowell, 7 miles west, has its own station (Grand Rapids, MI): 39.4 inches a year, 3.4 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 16 | 2.2 | 6 | 15.5 |
| Feb | 32 | 16 | 1.7 | 5 | 11.9 |
| Mar | 42 | 24 | 2.2 | 5 | 7.0 |
| Apr | 56 | 35 | 3.3 | 7 | 1.6 |
| May | 68 | 47 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 77 | 57 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 60 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 59 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 51 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 59 | 40 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 46 | 30 | 2.8 | 6 | 3.6 |
| Dec | 34 | 22 | 2.2 | 6 | 14.1 |
| Year | 56 | 38 | 36.0 | 74 | 54.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ionia 2SSW, MI (805 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 Saranac
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 67 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Saranac: 67 thunderstorm wind reports. 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 September 11, 2019.
August 24, 2023: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Saranac — $10.0 million damage.
September 11, 2019: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Saranac — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “The public reported that a large barn was blown off it's foundation and there was minor damage to a small barn in the same area near Woodbury. Scattered wind damage was also noted from southeast of Lowell to Lake Odessa in the form of scattered downed trees and limbs.”
July 23, 2022: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Saranac — $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
Ionia County, which includes Saranac, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 snowstorms, 4 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on February 8, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Ionia County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $19.5 million a year, the 34th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.8 million (55%), 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 Saranac
- Clarksville, MI6 mi
- Lowell, MI7 mi
- Ionia, MI8 mi
- Lake Odessa, MI10 mi
- Belding, MI11 mi
- Alto, MI12 mi
- Freeport, MI13 mi
- Lyons, MI14 mi
- Ada, MI14 mi
- Portland, MI16 mi
- Fenwick, MI17 mi
- Greenville, MI17 mi
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