NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sterling Heights, 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 Sterling Heights, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 63 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 63
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
16 deaths in all
What the records show for Sterling Heights
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Sterling Heights; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 64 mph winds when its centre passed 70 miles away. The record near Sterling Heights begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm 5 miles away. Of the 5 systems, one has come since 2000. Sterling Heights has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 48% of the 546 Michigan cities on this site. The highest rating among the 63 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on March 20, 1976, came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on May 8, 1964, killed 11 people. Of the 63, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 11 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on June 18, 2025. Of the 546 Michigan cities, 53% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Sterling Heights. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 168 times since 1967, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Sterling Heights has more hail reports within 10 miles than any other of the 546 Michigan cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sterling Heights
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 4 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 22 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 12 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 14 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Sterling Heights: 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 Sterling Heights
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s4
- 2000s3
- 1990s6(1 EF3+)
- 1980s18(1 EF3+)
- 1970s17(3 EF3+)
- 1960s3(1 EF3+)
- 1950s8(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 1964 | F4 | 12 mi | 3.3 mi | 11 / 224 |
| Mar 20, 1976 | F4 | 15 mi | 3.8 mi | 1 / 55 |
| Jul 4, 1957 | F4 | 6 mi | 29.9 mi | 0 / 6 |
| May 12, 1956 | F4 | 24 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 22 |
| Mar 20, 1976 | F3 | 9 mi | 17.1 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Nov 20, 1957 | F3 | 13 mi | 1.5 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Sep 14, 1990 | F3 | 7 mi | 24 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 2, 1983 | F3 | 10 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 2, 1972 | F3 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1987 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.3 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Sep 13, 2008 | EF2 | 23 mi | 2.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 1997 | F2 | 14 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 90 |
The strongest 12 of 63, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sterling Heights
The Storm Prediction Center has 168 hail reports within 10 miles of Sterling Heights since 1967, made on 85 separate days. Of these, 78 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 2, 1983. The most recent report is from May 15, 2025. July has the most reports, 48.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sterling Heights
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mt Clemens Ang Base, MI, 11 miles east of Sterling Heights at 580 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 18°F. July is the wettest at 3.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 35.1 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 129 nights a year. Snowfall averages 32.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 35.1 inches is more than at 81 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (62%). Troy, 5 miles west, has its own station (Pontiac Wwtp, MI): 33.9 inches a year, 1.2 less than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 18 | 2.2 | 6 | 10.6 |
| Feb | 34 | 19 | 1.8 | 4 | 8.5 |
| Mar | 44 | 26 | 2.5 | 6 | 5.2 |
| Apr | 56 | 36 | 3.4 | 8 | 0.7 |
| May | 68 | 47 | 3.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 57 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 61 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 53 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 43 | 2.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 48 | 32 | 2.6 | 6 | 1.3 |
| Dec | 37 | 24 | 2.2 | 6 | 5.9 |
| Year | 58 | 40 | 35.1 | 74 | 32.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Mt Clemens Ang Base, MI (580 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 Sterling Heights
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 401 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sterling Heights: 364 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 flash floods, 11 floods and 8 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $421.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 109 mph, on July 7, 1996. August has had the most flash floods, 9 of 18. Of the 376 Michigan cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 357 have had fewer than Sterling Heights.
July 7, 1996: thunderstorm wind in Sterling Heights — 1 injured, $3.0 million damage.
July 21, 1998: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Sterling Heights — 1 injured, $1.4 million damage.
June 5, 2005: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Sterling Heights — 1 injured, $10,000 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 Sterling Heights's 4 ZIP codes have filed 51 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $906,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2014, with 21. 6% 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, 98 have fewer than Sterling Heights.
Macomb County, which includes Sterling Heights, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 5 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 Macomb County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively High for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail and heat waves; Relatively Low for coastal flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $268.0 million a year, the 3rd highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $145.9 million (54%), 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 Sterling Heights
- Fraser, MI5 mi
- Troy, MI5 mi
- Clinton Township, MI6 mi
- Shelby Township, MI6 mi
- Warren, MI6 mi
- Madison Heights, MI6 mi
- Clawson, MI7 mi
- Center Line, MI7 mi
- Roseville, MI7 mi
- Macomb, MI8 mi
- Mount Clemens, MI8 mi
- Royal Oak, MI8 mi
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