NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Three Rivers, 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 Three Rivers, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 73 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 73
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
78 deaths in all
What the records show for Three Rivers
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Three Rivers; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 47 miles away. The record near Three Rivers 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 Three Rivers. The highest rating among the 73 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 2, 1977, came within 23 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 11, 1965, killed 36 people. Of the 73, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 28 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Three Rivers has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 59% of the 546 Michigan cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 38 times since 1966, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Three Rivers has more hail reports within 10 miles than 54% of the 546 Michigan cities.
Compare Three Rivers's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Three Rivers
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 9 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 Three Rivers: 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 Three Rivers
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s9
- 2000s10(1 EF3+)
- 1990s4
- 1980s8(1 EF3+)
- 1970s13(1 EF3+)
- 1960s10(4 EF3+)
- 1950s10
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 16 mi | 37 mi | 36 / 321 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 18 mi | 21.2 mi | 31 / 252 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 21 mi | 21.6 mi | 5 / 41 |
| Apr 2, 1977 | F4 | 23 mi | 12.4 mi | 0 / 10 |
| May 13, 1980 | F3 | 23 mi | 10.6 mi | 5 / 79 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F3 | 7 mi | 47 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Apr 30, 1962 | F3 | 16 mi | 36.5 mi | 0 / 49 |
| Aug 6, 2024 | EF2 | in town | 8.46 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 2024 | EF2 | 16 mi | 10.86 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 7, 2024 | EF2 | 7 mi | 19.53 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 10 mi | 10.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 21 mi | 2.73 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 73, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Three Rivers
The Storm Prediction Center has 38 hail reports within 10 miles of Three Rivers since 1966, made on 27 separate days. Of these, 26 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on September 10, 1987. The most recent report is from May 7, 2024. June has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Three Rivers
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Three Rivers, MI, 2 miles south of Three Rivers at 810 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 17°F. May is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.1 inches; the year adds up to 39.9 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 145 nights a year. Snowfall averages 41.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.9 inches is more than at 126 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (96%). Schoolcraft, 11 miles north, has its own station (Kalamazoo Battle Ck International Airport, MI): 33.3 inches a year, 6.6 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 17 | 2.9 | 7 | 15.0 |
| Feb | 34 | 18 | 2.1 | 5 | 9.7 |
| Mar | 45 | 26 | 2.3 | 6 | 3.7 |
| Apr | 58 | 36 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.6 |
| May | 69 | 48 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 57 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 61 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 51 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 40 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 47 | 31 | 3.0 | 7 | 2.9 |
| Dec | 36 | 23 | 2.4 | 7 | 9.3 |
| Year | 58 | 39 | 39.9 | 79 | 41.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Three Rivers, MI (810 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 Three Rivers
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 143 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Three Rivers: 140 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $1.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on May 29, 2011.
June 16, 2024: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Three Rivers — 2 injured, $20,000 damage.
NWS: “St. Joseph County dispatch reported numerous trees and powerlines down in Three Rivers.”
June 18, 2014: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Three Rivers — 1 injured.
NWS: “Local media reported a lightning strike caused a fire at an apartment complex in Three Rivers. The fire was mainly confined to the attic area, but extensive smoke and water damage occurred.”
September 13, 2008: flood 8 miles from the centre of Three Rivers — $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
Flood insurance policyholders in Three Rivers's ZIP code 49093 have filed 85 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2018, with 16. 19% 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, 128 have fewer than Three Rivers.
St. Joseph County, which includes Three Rivers, 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.