Surprise! Most of Michigan is in ‘Hurricane Prone Territory’ (Here’s What That Means)

Living in Michigan you are acutely aware of the weather hazards we face - tornados in the spring and summer, blizzards in the winter. But you likely don't give much consideration to hurricanes.

After all, Michigan is hundreds of miles from the coastline of the tropical gulf or Atlantic ocean.

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Perhaps you should consider that most of Michigan is in what's considered hurricane prone territory.

Low risk, yes, but not no risk.

Here's how a map of hurricane risk for the United States appears with all of Lower Michigan and two counties in the eastern Upper Peninsula, Mackinac and Chippewa, in the Very Low Risk region.

The Unexpected Reality: Michigan's "Hurricane Prone" Status

All of the western Upper Peninsula is in the No Risk category.

The maps of hurricane risk, as well as tornado and river flooding risks, was shared to a Reddit subreddit dedicated to map enthusiasts.

Hurricanes that do reach Michigan have lost a great deal of their punch as they cross land to reach Michigan.

Tracking the Remnants: How Hurricanes Reach the Great Lakes

A National Weather Service map of historic hurricane tracks shows just how many of these storms - almost always originating in the Gulf - can reach Michigan.

Almost every storm that hits Michigan peters out to a post-tropical system. But a few storms have hit Michigan with tropical depression strength with a single storm, Connie in 1955, hitting the state still classified as a tropical storm.

READ MORE: The Extremely Obscure Land Border Between Michigan and Canada You Didn't Know About

Connie: Michigan's Lone Tropical Storm

Connie, Michigan's lone historic Tropical Storm, originated in the Atlantic and wreaked havoc up the east coast as a Category 4 storm. By the time it reached Michigan the center of circulation passed over the Thumb then passed out over Saginaw Bay before touching land again between Tawas and Alpena.

The Wikipedia entry on Connie includes:

Late in the storm's path through the United States, Connie produced wind gusts of 65 mph (105 km/h) along Lake Huron in Michigan, causing high waves that damaged or sank many small boats. Damage in Michigan was estimated at $150,000

Cristóbal and Lake Superior: A Historic First

That the Western Upper Peninsula faces almost no risk from a tropical system is very real. Just one storm has tracked across the region in recorded history, Cristóbal in 2020. It became the only known tropical system to ever touch Lake Superior.

Cristobal reached the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as a post-tropical cyclone by the early morning hours of June 10, and the last public advisory issued by the Weather Prediction Center on Cristobal came later that morning, at 09:00 UTC. Multiple June low pressure records fell as Cristobal passed through the Marquette area. A peak gust of 50 knots (93 km/h; 58 mph) was recorded at the Stannard Rock Lighthouse, just southeast of the Keweenaw Peninsula, as the storm moved across Lake Superior toward Northern Ontario, Canada. In doing so, Cristobal became the first known case of a tropical system reaching Lake Superior.

Other Notable Visitors: Tropical Depressions in Michigan

Other storms of significance that reached Michigan at tropical depression strength:

• Hurricane 4 of 1915
• Alberto in 2018
• Hurricane 7 of 1898 - a Cat 4 known historically as the Georgia Hurricane
• Arlene in 2005
• Hurricane 2 of 1896
• Dennis in 2005 - the only tropical system to ever pass over the city limits of Detroit.

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The "White Hurricane": A Great Lakes Monster of a Different Kind

There is one storm that stands out as the greatest natural disaster to ever strike the Great Lakes - the White Hurricane of 1913. While not truly a hurricane as it didn't originate in the ocean or gulf, the storm is classified as an extratropical cyclone and brought hurricane force winds to the region with the worst hit areas on Lake Huron.