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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sterling, MI

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Sterling, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Connie in 1955. Since 1950, 43 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
5

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
43

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
3

1 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sterling

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Sterling, Michigan, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1955ConnieAug 1446 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
1941Unnamed 1941 stormSep 2512 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 3
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 469 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 1
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1924 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1243 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 4

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Sterling: 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

By decade

  • 2020s1
  • 2010s8
  • 2000s4
  • 1990s9(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s6
  • 1970s14(2 EF3+)
  • 1950s1
Strongest tornadoes near Sterling, Michigan
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Mar 30, 1976F314 mi6.4 mi1 / 7
Mar 27, 1991F317 mi35 mi0 / 0
Mar 30, 1976F310 mi11.4 mi0 / 10
Jul 13, 1995F25 mi5 mi0 / 0
Apr 24, 1993F27 mi7 mi0 / 3
Mar 27, 1991F216 mi6 mi0 / 0
Jul 4, 1977F217 mi2.5 mi0 / 1
May 21, 1975F225 mi1.6 mi0 / 0
Apr 12, 1974F28 mi0.8 mi0 / 0
Jul 31, 1973F213 mi2.3 mi0 / 0
Jun 7, 1955F224 mi3.8 mi0 / 0
Jun 22, 2024EF112 mi10.3 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 43, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Sterling while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

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