Sturgis

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for St. Joseph County, the county that contains Sturgis.

Claims by ZIP code

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).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in St. Joseph County, the county that contains Sturgis.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for St. Joseph County, the county that contains Sturgis.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Feb 20, 2018Flood$680,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding occurred due to high water levels in many creeks, streams and rivers in the county. Several roads were closed for a period of time until flood waters receded. Over 60 structures were impacted by the flood waters as well as minor road damage. Damage of around 680,000 dollars was estimated.

2. Sep 13, 2008Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The rainfall from the remnants of Lowell and Ike continued to drop heavy rainfall into the early morning hours of the 15th. When the rain finally stopped, total rainfall amounts of eight to ten inches was reported across the southern part of the county, including the Three Rivers area. Numerous roads remained closed with some culverts and bridges suffering damage. No injuries were reported. No exact figures are available for the damage to the area from the flooding.

3. Oct 24, 2001Tornado$322,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado touched down north of the Elkhart/St Joseph Michigan county line southwest of White Pigeon and skipped northeast before lifting north of White pigeon. F1 damage near SR 131 and SR 12 to buildings and high tension wires.

4. Jun 5, 2010Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A survey of damage across southern St. Joseph County was performed by NWS Personnel. The damage found indicates that a circulation touched down over an open field north of Miller Road and west of Blue School Road. The tornado initially struck two barns, destroying them and sending the debris several miles downwind. The tornado then picked up a trailer at a local Port-A-Jon business. It appears that a combination of the strong winds and the trailer striking one of the guy wires, resulted in a 350 foot cell tower being blown down into an adjacent tower, causing the failure of both (DI: FST DOD:2). The tornado then continued across mainly open fields, scouring a 200 yard wide area of…

5. Nov 10, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   SEVERAL HOMES WERE HEAVILY DAMAGED BY FALLEN TREES.

6. Aug 25, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   EXTENSIVE TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN ACROSS THE COUNTY.

7. Oct 24, 2001Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado skipped along a 5 mile path. F1 damage included a well constructed barn destroyed with debris thrown about one half mile.

8. Oct 24, 2001Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado crossed into Berrien county Michigan from St Joseph county Indiana south of Niles (see Storm Data for Indiana, Northeast for more information on the beginning portion of this tornado in Indiana). The tornado tracked northeast across extreme southeast Berrien county, then across Cass county and the northeast corner of St Joseph county Michigan. F1 damage was reported south of Niles, near Edwardsburg, and in Cassopolis. The tornado was skipping as it caused general F0 to F1 damage across northeast Cass county and northwest St Joseph county.

9. Nov 10, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES WERE BLOWN DOWN ACROSS THE COUNTY. THE TOWN OF STURGIS WAS ESPECIALLY HARD HIT WHERE TREES...LIMBS...FENCES AND TV ANTENNAS WERE BLOWN DOWN. ONE HOME OWNERS CAR WAS COMPLETELY CRUSHED BY A VERY LARGE TREE.

10. Aug 11, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$62,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Emergency manager reports 6 to 8 power poles were snapped.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

107°F4 times, most recently Jul 14, 1936

All-time low

−23°FJan 20, 1994

Warmest night

81°FJul 19, 1930

Coldest day

−11°FJan 31, 2019

Wettest day

5.05 inSep 14, 2008

Snowiest day

16.0 in2 times, most recently Jan 27, 1967

Hottest year

1931mean 53.3°F

Coldest year

2014mean 45.5°F

Wettest year

201951.84 in

Driest year

193019.84 in

Snowiest season

82.4 in2013-14

Station Three Rivers (USC00208184), 810 ft elevation, 14.5 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1895 to October 28, 2026; 98.1% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for St. Joseph County.

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).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00208184.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.