NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sturgis, 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 Sturgis, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 67 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 67
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
140 deaths in all
What the records show for Sturgis
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Sturgis; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 33 miles away. The record near Sturgis begins with an unnamed storm in 1923; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 4 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 546 Michigan cities on this site, 52% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Sturgis. The highest rating among the 67 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 6 times; the most recent, on April 3, 1974, came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 11, 1965, killed 36 people. Of the 67, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 25 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 18. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Sturgis has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 51% of the 546 Michigan cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 27 times since 1977, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Of the 546 Michigan cities, 66% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Sturgis.
Compare Sturgis's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sturgis
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Sturgis: 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 Sturgis
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s8
- 2000s6(1 EF3+)
- 1990s2
- 1980s7(1 EF3+)
- 1970s13(2 EF3+)
- 1960s12(7 EF3+)
- 1950s8
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 6 mi | 37 mi | 36 / 321 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 18 mi | 21.2 mi | 31 / 252 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 15 mi | 90.3 mi | 23 / 294 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 22 mi | 80.5 mi | 21 / 293 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 17 mi | 108.7 mi | 18 / 285 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 9 mi | 21.6 mi | 5 / 41 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 22 mi | 36.2 mi | 5 / 53 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F3 | 21 mi | 47 mi | 1 / 2 |
| May 15, 1986 | F3 | 25 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1962 | F3 | 20 mi | 36.5 mi | 0 / 49 |
| May 6, 1961 | F3 | 20 mi | 33.4 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Aug 6, 2024 | EF2 | 14 mi | 8.46 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 67, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sturgis
The Storm Prediction Center has 27 hail reports within 10 miles of Sturgis since 1977, made on 18 separate days. Of these, 18 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on May 6, 2004. The most recent report is from March 30, 2025. June has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sturgis
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lagrange, IN, 12 miles south of Sturgis at 900 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 17°F. May is the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.9 inches; the year adds up to 38.5 inches over 73 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 140 nights a year. That 38.5 inches is more than at 116 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (89%). Centreville, 8 miles northwest, has its own station (Three Rivers, MI): 39.9 inches a year, 1.4 more than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 17 | 2.7 | 6 |
| Feb | 34 | 18 | 1.9 | 4 |
| Mar | 45 | 27 | 2.5 | 5 |
| Apr | 59 | 38 | 3.6 | 7 |
| May | 70 | 49 | 4.3 | 8 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 3.4 | 7 |
| Aug | 81 | 60 | 4.2 | 6 |
| Sep | 75 | 53 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Oct | 62 | 43 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Nov | 48 | 31 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Dec | 36 | 23 | 2.3 | 6 |
| Year | 59 | 40 | 38.5 | 73 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lagrange, IN (900 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 Sturgis
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 127 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sturgis: 125 thunderstorm wind reports and 2 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $492,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 78 mph, on May 21, 2004.
June 11, 2026: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Sturgis — 1 injured, $10,000 damage.
February 6, 2008: flood 8 miles from the centre of Sturgis — $100,000 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
St. Joseph County, which includes Sturgis, has been named in 8 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 3 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 flood, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 27, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives St. Joseph County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes and inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $18.9 million a year, the 36th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.4 million (60%), 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.