NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Union City, 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 Union City, 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, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 67
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
55 deaths in all
What the records show for Union City
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Union City; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 38 miles away. The record near Union City 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 Union City. The highest rating among the 67 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 2, 1977, came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 11, 1965, killed 23 people. Of the 67, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 21 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 24. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Union City has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 51% of the 546 Michigan cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 49 times since 1974, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Union City has more hail reports within 10 miles than 66% of the 546 Michigan cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Union City
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 10 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 Union City: 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 Union City
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s5
- 2000s4
- 1990s4(1 EF3+)
- 1980s12(2 EF3+)
- 1970s13(1 EF3+)
- 1960s11(4 EF3+)
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 21 mi | 90.3 mi | 23 / 294 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 19 mi | 80.5 mi | 21 / 293 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 24 mi | 21.6 mi | 5 / 41 |
| Apr 2, 1977 | F4 | 22 mi | 12.4 mi | 0 / 10 |
| May 13, 1980 | F3 | 25 mi | 10.6 mi | 5 / 79 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F3 | 25 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 18 |
| May 15, 1986 | F3 | 12 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 24 mi | 14.2 mi | 0 / 17 |
| May 7, 2024 | EF2 | 22 mi | 10.86 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 7, 2024 | EF2 | 4 mi | 19.53 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 15, 1986 | F2 | 20 mi | 42.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1983 | F2 | 9 mi | 1 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 Union City
The Storm Prediction Center has 49 hail reports within 10 miles of Union City since 1974, made on 38 separate days. Of these, 23 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 7, 2024. The most recent report is from June 17, 2024. May has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Union City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Coldwater St School, MI, 10 miles southeast of Union City at 984 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 16°F. August is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and March the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 39.2 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 136 nights a year. Snowfall averages 42.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.2 inches is more than at 120 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (92%). Athens, 6 miles west, has its own station (Battle Creek Kellogg Airport, MI): 31.6 inches a year, 7.6 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 | 16 | 2.5 | 6 | 13.1 |
| Feb | 34 | 18 | 2.3 | 6 | 10.7 |
| Mar | 45 | 26 | 2.2 | 5 | 4.9 |
| Apr | 58 | 36 | 3.4 | 8 | 1.1 |
| May | 69 | 47 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 57 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 60 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 58 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 51 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 40 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 47 | 31 | 2.8 | 7 | 3.6 |
| Dec | 36 | 22 | 2.4 | 6 | 9.2 |
| Year | 58 | 38 | 39.2 | 81 | 42.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Coldwater St School, MI (984 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 Union City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 114 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Union City: 113 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 flood. They killed 1 person and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $2.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on October 24, 2001.
May 21, 2004: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Union City — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.
October 24, 2001: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Union City — 6 injured, $1.1 million damage.
February 20, 2018: flood 9 miles from the centre of Union City — $680,000 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
Branch County, which includes Union City, has been named in 6 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 2 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 hurricane, 1 tornado). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 27, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Branch County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $13.7 million a year, the 43rd highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.5 million (55%), 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 Union City
- Athens, MI6 mi
- Sherwood, MI7 mi
- East Leroy, MI11 mi
- Coldwater, MI12 mi
- Colon, MI13 mi
- Quincy, MI15 mi
- Bronson, MI15 mi
- Climax, MI17 mi
- Homer, MI17 mi
- Marshall, MI17 mi
- Burr Oak, MI18 mi
- Scotts, MI18 mi
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