NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sparta, 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 Sparta, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 66 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 66
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
23 deaths in all
What the records show for Sparta
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Sparta; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 61 mph winds when its centre passed 2 miles away. The record near Sparta begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm 29 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 Sparta. The strongest of the 66 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1956; its path came within 5 miles, and it killed 17 people. Of the 66, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 24 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 12. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Sparta has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 50% of the 546 Michigan cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 22 times since 1956, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 546 Michigan cities, 77% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Sparta.
Compare Sparta's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sparta
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 4 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 2 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 Sparta: 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 Sparta
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s5
- 2000s10
- 1990s10
- 1980s3
- 1970s11
- 1960s13(2 EF3+)
- 1950s5(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1956 | F5 | 5 mi | 58.8 mi | 17 / 292 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 4 mi | 20.6 mi | 5 / 142 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F3 | 17 mi | 13.6 mi | 0 / 32 |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F3 | 24 mi | 60.6 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Jun 17, 1975 | F2 | 19 mi | 1.5 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 20, 1975 | F2 | 23 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 9, 1968 | F2 | 9 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 5, 1968 | F2 | 18 mi | 52.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1966 | F2 | 14 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 4, 1965 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 4, 1965 | F2 | 20 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 66, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sparta
The Storm Prediction Center has 22 hail reports within 10 miles of Sparta since 1956, made on 21 separate days. Of these, 12 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on August 15, 1961. The most recent report is from June 20, 2024. July and August have the most reports, 5 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sparta
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Grand Rapids, MI, 20 miles southeast of Sparta at 778 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 19°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 133 nights a year. Snowfall averages 77.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.4 inches is more than at 121 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (92%). Conklin, 8 miles west, has its own station (Muskegon Co Airport, MI): 35.2 inches a year, 4.2 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 | 31 | 19 | 2.5 | 7 | 22.6 |
| Feb | 34 | 20 | 2.1 | 6 | 17.2 |
| Mar | 45 | 27 | 2.4 | 6 | 7.6 |
| Apr | 58 | 37 | 4.0 | 8 | 2.0 |
| May | 70 | 49 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 58 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 63 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 61 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 53 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 42 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 47 | 33 | 3.1 | 7 | 7.1 |
| Dec | 36 | 25 | 2.5 | 7 | 20.8 |
| Year | 58 | 40 | 39.4 | 81 | 77.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Grand Rapids, MI (778 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 Sparta
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 56 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sparta: 54 thunderstorm wind reports and 2 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $12.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on May 31, 1998.
June 8, 2008: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Sparta — 1 killed.
August 24, 2023: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Sparta — $10.0 million damage.
August 9, 2009: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Sparta — $500,000 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
Kent County, which includes Sparta, 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.