NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Saugatuck, 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 Saugatuck, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 42 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 42
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
19 deaths in all
What the records show for Saugatuck
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Saugatuck; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 61 mph winds when its centre passed 25 miles away. The record near Saugatuck begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm 23 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 Saugatuck. The strongest of the 42 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1956; its path passed within a mile of the city centre, and it killed 17 people. Of the 42, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 14 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Of the 546 Michigan cities, 67% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Saugatuck. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 38 times since 1960, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Saugatuck has more hail reports within 10 miles than 54% of the 546 Michigan cities.
Compare Saugatuck's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Saugatuck
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 25 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 Saugatuck: 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 Saugatuck
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s8
- 2000s1
- 1990s2
- 1980s7
- 1970s7
- 1960s5
- 1950s7(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1956 | F5 | in town | 58.8 mi | 17 / 292 |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F3 | 20 mi | 60.6 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Jul 21, 1983 | F2 | in town | 13.6 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Jun 19, 2009 | EF2 | 16 mi | 5.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1989 | F2 | 11 mi | 10.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1989 | F2 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1974 | F2 | 11 mi | 5.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 24, 1967 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F2 | 10 mi | 18.6 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Sep 4, 1965 | F2 | 25 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 1963 | F2 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1957 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 42, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Saugatuck
The Storm Prediction Center has 38 hail reports within 10 miles of Saugatuck since 1960, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 20 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 4, 1975. The most recent report is from April 7, 2020. April has the most reports, 10.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Saugatuck
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Holland Tulip City Airport, MI, 7 miles northeast of Saugatuck at 689 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 20°F. October is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 35.0 inches over 74 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 123 nights a year. That 35.0 inches is more than at 79 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (60%). Pullman, 14 miles southeast, has its own station (Bloomingdale, MI): 41.1 inches a year, 6.1 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 82°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Holland, MI, 7 miles north, averaged 71°F in July and 34°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 20 | 1.9 | 5 | 34 |
| Feb | 34 | 21 | 1.8 | 5 | 34 |
| Mar | 44 | 28 | 2.1 | 5 | 38 |
| Apr | 57 | 37 | 3.5 | 8 | 48 |
| May | 69 | 48 | 3.8 | 8 | 55 |
| Jun | 78 | 58 | 3.5 | 6 | 65 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 2.8 | 5 | 71 |
| Aug | 80 | 60 | 3.1 | 6 | 70 |
| Sep | 74 | 52 | 3.0 | 6 | 68 |
| Oct | 61 | 43 | 4.2 | 8 | 59 |
| Nov | 48 | 34 | 3.2 | 7 | 49 |
| Dec | 37 | 26 | 2.1 | 6 | 37 |
| Year | 58 | 41 | 35.0 | 74 | 52 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Holland Tulip City Airport, MI (689 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Holland, MI, from NOAA Tides & Currents. 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 Saugatuck
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 72 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Saugatuck: 68 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 3 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $13.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on May 15, 2025.
June 7, 2008: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Saugatuck — 2 killed, $4.0 million damage.
NWS: “m. EST June 8th, two people drowned when they were delivering newspapers and their car plunged into a fifty foot ravine created by a washed out road.”
June 7, 2008: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Saugatuck — 1 killed, $2.5 million damage.
June 19, 2009: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Saugatuck — $4.0 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 Saugatuck's ZIP code 49453 have filed 22 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $991,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 9% 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, 49 have fewer than Saugatuck.
Allegan County, which includes Saugatuck, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 5 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Allegan County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and inland flooding; Relatively Low for lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $32.0 million a year, the 19th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $22.1 million (69%), 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.