NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Willis, 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
6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Willis, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 104 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 104
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
50 deaths in all
What the records show for Willis
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Willis; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 5 miles away. The record near Willis begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 6 systems, one has come since 2000. Willis has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 76% of the 546 Michigan cities on this site. The highest rating among the 104 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 11, 1965, came within 4 miles. Of the 104, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 30 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 28. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Willis has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 96% of the 546 Michigan cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 103 times since 1957, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Willis has more hail reports within 10 miles than 91% of the 546 Michigan cities.
Compare Willis's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Willis
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 4 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 14 | 28 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 Willis: 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 Willis
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s16(1 EF3+)
- 2000s4
- 1990s7
- 1980s20
- 1970s25(1 EF3+)
- 1960s13(4 EF3+)
- 1950s9(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 4 mi | 90.3 mi | 23 / 294 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 4 mi | 80.5 mi | 21 / 293 |
| Jun 8, 1953 | F4 | 24 mi | 5.4 mi | 4 / 18 |
| May 12, 1956 | F4 | 20 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 22 |
| Jun 8, 1953 | F3 | 14 mi | 11.3 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Mar 15, 2012 | EF3 | 20 mi | 7.57 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 22 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 4, 1969 | F3 | in town | 13.9 mi | 0 / 54 |
| Apr 17, 1963 | F3 | 19 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 6, 2010 | EF2 | 12 mi | 13.01 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Sep 13, 2008 | EF2 | 19 mi | 2.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 16, 1992 | F2 | 17 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 104, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Willis
The Storm Prediction Center has 103 hail reports within 10 miles of Willis since 1957, made on 64 separate days. Of these, 54 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on April 9, 2001. The most recent report is from August 16, 2025. June and July have the most reports, 25 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Willis
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Detroit Willow Run Airport, MI, 8 miles north of Willis at 777 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 20°F. May is the wettest at 3.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 30.2 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 21 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 130 nights a year. That 30.2 inches is more than at 13 of the 131 Michigan stations used on this site (10%). Milan, 6 miles southwest, has its own station (Dundee, MI): 35.0 inches a year, 4.8 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 20 | 1.7 | 4 |
| Feb | 37 | 21 | 1.5 | 4 |
| Mar | 48 | 29 | 2.1 | 5 |
| Apr | 61 | 39 | 3.1 | 7 |
| May | 73 | 50 | 3.3 | 8 |
| Jun | 82 | 60 | 3.0 | 7 |
| Jul | 86 | 63 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Aug | 84 | 62 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Sep | 77 | 54 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Oct | 64 | 43 | 2.5 | 6 |
| Nov | 50 | 34 | 2.2 | 5 |
| Dec | 39 | 26 | 1.7 | 4 |
| Year | 61 | 42 | 30.2 | 67 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Detroit Willow Run Airport, MI (777 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 Willis
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 171 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Willis: 165 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 flash floods, 2 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 1 person and injured 7, and the NWS estimated $8.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on May 21, 2004.
June 18, 2014: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Willis — 1 killed.
June 29, 2024: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Willis — 4 injured.
May 25, 2019: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Willis — 2 injured.
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
Washtenaw County, which includes Willis, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Washtenaw County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $92.7 million a year, the 6th highest of 83 Michigan counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $46.6 million (50%), 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.