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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Highland, MI

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

6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Highland, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 97 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
6

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
97

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
7

7 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Highland

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Highland, Michigan, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2008IkeSep 1427 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1941Unnamed 1941 stormSep 2571 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 3
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 420 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 1
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1949 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1257 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 4
1892Unnamed 1892 stormSep 1441 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm

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

By decade

  • 2020s6
  • 2010s8
  • 2000s10
  • 1990s17(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s24(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s16(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s5
  • 1950s11(3 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Highland, Michigan
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
May 12, 1956F422 mi6.6 mi3 / 116
Mar 20, 1976F414 mi3.8 mi1 / 55
Jul 4, 1957F410 mi29.9 mi0 / 6
Sep 14, 1990F314 mi24 mi0 / 0
Aug 8, 1984F324 mi0.8 mi0 / 0
Aug 2, 1972F311 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Jun 8, 1953F35 mi9.1 mi0 / 11
Jun 21, 1987F214 mi0.3 mi1 / 6
Feb 28, 2024EF218 mi5.73 mi0 / 0
May 28, 2013EF216 mi4.61 mi0 / 0
May 28, 2013EF216 mi5.1 mi0 / 0
Sep 13, 2008EF221 mi2.65 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 97, 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 Highland 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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