NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Spring Lake, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Spring Lake, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 35 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 35
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
22 deaths in all
What the records show for Spring Lake
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Spring Lake; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 61 mph winds when its centre passed 3 miles away. The record near Spring Lake begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm 44 miles away. Of the 546 Michigan cities on this site, 75% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Spring Lake. The strongest of the 35 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1956; its path came within 20 miles, and it killed 17 people. Of the 35, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 10 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 8. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Of the 546 Michigan cities, 74% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Spring Lake. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 48 times since 1956, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Spring Lake has more hail reports within 10 miles than 65% of the 546 Michigan cities.
Compare Spring Lake's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Spring Lake
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 3 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 Spring Lake: 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 Spring Lake
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s2
- 2000s4
- 1990s3
- 1980s1
- 1970s7
- 1960s9(2 EF3+)
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1956 | F5 | 20 mi | 58.8 mi | 17 / 292 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 15 mi | 20.6 mi | 5 / 142 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F3 | 25 mi | 13.6 mi | 0 / 32 |
| Jul 12, 1966 | F2 | 12 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 4, 1965 | F2 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 4, 1965 | F2 | 6 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 22, 1961 | F2 | 19 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 22, 1957 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 6, 1956 | F2 | 10 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 2023 | EF1 | 23 mi | 8.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1991 | F1 | 1 mi | 0.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1979 | F1 | 18 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 35, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Spring Lake
The Storm Prediction Center has 48 hail reports within 10 miles of Spring Lake since 1956, made on 41 separate days. Of these, 21 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 13, 1956. The most recent report is from June 25, 2024. July has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Spring Lake
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Muskegon Co Airport, MI, 6 miles north of Spring Lake at 625 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 21°F. October is the wettest at 3.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.1 inches; the year adds up to 35.2 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 3 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 130 nights a year. Snowfall averages 87.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 35.2 inches is more than at 84 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (64%). West Olive, 11 miles south, has its own station (Holland Tulip City Airport, MI): 35.0 inches a year, 0.2 less than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Holland, MI, 22 miles south, 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" | Snow in | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 21 | 2.4 | 7 | 29.1 | 34 |
| Feb | 35 | 21 | 2.1 | 5 | 20.0 | 34 |
| Mar | 44 | 27 | 2.4 | 6 | 7.5 | 38 |
| Apr | 57 | 37 | 3.5 | 7 | 1.8 | 48 |
| May | 68 | 48 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.0 | 55 |
| Jun | 78 | 57 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 | 65 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.0 | 71 |
| Aug | 80 | 61 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 | 70 |
| Sep | 73 | 54 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 | 68 |
| Oct | 61 | 43 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.0 | 59 |
| Nov | 48 | 34 | 2.9 | 7 | 6.5 | 49 |
| Dec | 37 | 26 | 2.4 | 7 | 22.3 | 37 |
| Year | 58 | 41 | 35.2 | 76 | 87.2 | 52 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Muskegon Co Airport, MI (625 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 Spring Lake
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 59 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Spring Lake: 57 thunderstorm wind reports and 2 floods. They killed 4 people and injured 23, and the NWS estimated $59.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 87 mph, on July 7, 2017.
May 31, 1998: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Spring Lake — 1 killed, 20 injured, $44.6 million damage.
NWS: “Michigan State Police EMD's Damage and Injury Assessment Report indicated $4,195,604 in public damage costs, 17 homes destroyed, 827 homes damaged, 8 businesses destroyed, and 129 businesses damaged.”
June 8, 2008: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Spring Lake — 1 killed, 1 injured.
NWS: “A two foot diameter tree fell on a car in motion in Spring Lake. As a result the driver was killed and the passenger incurred minor injuries.”
July 7, 2017: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Spring Lake — 1 killed, $250,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Spring Lake's ZIP code 49456 have filed 54 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1985, and were paid $315,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2020, with 19. 17% 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, 103 have fewer than Spring Lake.
Ottawa County, which includes Spring Lake, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 4 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 27, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Ottawa County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $68.2 million a year, the 9th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $44.6 million (65%), 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.