States › Michigan › Wayne County

Wayne County, Michigan

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 26163 · 1,774,816 residents (2021) · 612 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 223Tornado · 42Flood · 117Wind · 629Winter · 62

Wayne County within Michigan. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

The NCEI record lists 1,138 events for Wayne County, Michigan, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 186.0 events per 100 square miles, above the Michigan figure of 64.2, and 6.4 per 10,000 residents against 36.1 statewide.

26 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 30 deaths and 822 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $1.6B and crop damage at $150M.

FEMA has designated the county in 17 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding (major disaster, 8 Feb 2024).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 2,892 claims since 1978, of which 1,822 were paid, totalling $14M (about $8K per paid claim). FEMA counts 3,357 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively High" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively High" ($402M a year across 18 hazards).

6 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

26events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

1,138events since 195030 deaths, 822 injuries recorded

17disaster declarationslast 8 Feb 2024

2,892NFIP flood claims$14M paid

Compared with Michigan and the United States

Measure	Wayne County	Michigan	US
Recorded events since 1950	1,138	36,322	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	186.0	64.2	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	6.4	36.1	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	26	1,078	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	30	451	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$1.6B	$6.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.6	1.5	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$8K	$15K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	18.7	21.2	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Hail: 8Tornado: 6Wind: 6

Hail: 7Tornado: 3Wind: 35

Hail: 4Tornado: 8Wind: 22

Hail: 15Tornado: 8Wind: 49

Hail: 34Tornado: 4Flood: 30Wind: 64Winter: 7Heat: 2Cold: 4Lightning: 7

Hail: 88Tornado: 1Flood: 24Wind: 158Winter: 28Heat: 6Cold: 13Drought: 2Lightning: 13Fog: 2

Hail: 53Tornado: 5Flood: 26Wind: 184Winter: 20Heat: 8Cold: 5Lightning: 1Other: 1

Hail: 14Tornado: 7Flood: 37Wind: 111Winter: 7Heat: 1

201950s451960s341970s721980s1521990s3352000s3032010s1772020s

Recorded events in Wayne County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterHeatColdDroughtLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 593 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 391 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind629

Hail223

Flood117

Winter62

Tornado42

Cold22

Lightning21

Heat17

Drought2

Fog2

Other1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	629	9	4.3%	detail
■ Hail	223	—	3.7%	detail
■ Flood	117	—	9.0%	detail
■ Winter	62	—	0.6%	detail
■ Tornado	42	2	3.3%	detail
■ Cold	22	12	2.0%
■ Lightning	21	3	6.4%
■ Heat	17	4	4.6%
■ Drought	2	—	3.7%
■ Fog	2	—	2.0%
■ Other	1	—	0.5%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
2 Jul 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	92 mph	$10M	—	5	8	County
1 Aug 2006	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	—	215	Forecast zone
21 Jul 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	63 mph	$825K	—	2	2	County
17 Jul 2011	Excessive Heat	Heat	—	—	—	2	—	Forecast zone
29 Jan 2019	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	2	—	Forecast zone
20 Nov 1957	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	1	12	County
3 Feb 2007	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	$25K	—	1	10	Forecast zone
11 Aug 2014	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.1B	—	—	—	County
6 Aug 2001	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	—	107	Forecast zone
5 Jun 2024	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	—	—	1	2	County
17 Jul 2006	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	1	County
21 Jun 1987	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	1	—	County
1 Feb 1996	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
16 Jun 1998	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
3 Dec 2002	Extreme Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
3 Dec 2002	Extreme Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
27 Jan 2003	Extreme Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
21 Jan 2003	Extreme Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
3 Mar 2003	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
9 Mar 2003	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
8 Feb 2024	DR-4757	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance
15 Jul 2021	DR-4607	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
27 Mar 2020	DR-4494	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3455	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
25 Sep 2014	DR-4195	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
7 Sep 2005	EM-3225	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
30 Jun 2004	DR-1527	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance
23 Sep 2003	EM-3189	Emergency	Other	Power Outage	Public assistance
17 Oct 2000	DR-1346	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance
27 Jan 1999	EM-3137	Emergency	Snowstorm	Mi - Severe Weather 1/2 /99	Public assistance
5 Aug 1998	DR-1237	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And High Winds	Public assistance
11 Jul 1997	DR-1181	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes,And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
8 Sep 1980	DR-631	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Public assistance
27 Jan 1978	EM-3057	Emergency	Snowstorm	Blizzards & Snowstorms	Public assistance
19 Mar 1976	DR-495	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Icing & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
12 Apr 1973	DR-371	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
1 Dec 1972	DR-363	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Wayne County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19782,892

Paid claims1,822

Total paid$14M

Average paid claim$8K

Repetitive-loss properties1835 severe

Residential policies in force3,3570.5% of 650,804 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	14	5	$121,610	$24,322
2025	24	17	$513,305	$30,194
2024	32	19	$345,186	$18,168
2023	116	84	$1,406,227	$16,741
2022	7	1	$7,016	$7,016
2021	181	140	$1,379,919	$9,857
2020	23	13	$101,396	$7,800
2019	182	141	$1,577,350	$11,187
2018	40	21	$588,423	$28,020
2017	10	7	$43,932	$6,276
2016	66	46	$213,536	$4,642
2015	13	0	$0	—
2014	444	304	$2,782,597	$9,153
2013	33	20	$131,126	$6,556
2012	7	1	$2,369	$2,369
2011	64	44	$434,137	$9,867
2010	21	12	$85,090	$7,091
2009	18	7	$27,002	$3,857
2008	12	4	$8,677	$2,169
2007	12	5	$61,574	$12,315
2006	15	6	$20,285	$3,381
2005	8	3	$7,595	$2,532
2004	144	109	$529,428	$4,857
2003	13	4	$4,813	$1,203
2002	12	5	$42,450	$8,490

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Highscore 99.0 of 100

Expected annual loss$402MRelatively High

Social vulnerabilityRelatively High

Community resilienceRelatively Moderate

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Very High	$237,300,108
Cold wave	Very High	$59,797,080
Tornado	Very High	$43,771,053
Heat wave	Relatively High	$31,796,838
Strong wind	Very High	$12,728,926
Earthquake	Relatively Moderate	$9,939,476
Ice storm	Very High	$2,789,494
Lightning	Very High	$2,487,611
Winter weather	Relatively High	$490,547
Hail	Relatively Low	$173,530
Hurricane	Very Low	$119,889
Coastal flooding	Relatively Low	$90,305
Wildfire	Very Low	$46,163
Landslide	Very Low	$1,821

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles6

Tracks within 50 miles1

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	89 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	92 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	61 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	85 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1900	91 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1892	28 mi	58 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

48173 753
48125 691
48215 322
48239 108
48229 95
48124 77
48146 71
48101 61
48138 59
48192 54
48180 53
48183 45
48230 39
48170 31
48134 30
48219 24
48228 24
48234 23
48235 21
48236 21
48227 19
48127 16
48187 14
48126 13
48205 13
48209 13
48174 12
48221 12
48223 11
48224 11
48141 10
48185 9
48188 8
48193 8
48203 8
48214 8
48206 7
48210 7
48212 7
48152 6
48154 6
48238 6
48186 5
48207 5
48213 5
48217 5

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Wayne County, MI?

NCEI records 223 hail events in Wayne County since 1950, in 52 different years; that is about 2.9 recorded events a year. 26 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Wayne County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 42 tornadoes in Wayne County since 1950, 11 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 2.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Wayne County?

8 Feb 2024: Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding, a major disaster declaration for flood. The county appears in 17 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Wayne County, and how much was paid?

2,892 NFIP claims since 1978, 1,822 of them paid, for $14M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Wayne County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively High" for overall risk, "Relatively High" for expected annual loss, "Relatively High" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Moderate" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Wayne County compare with the rest of Michigan?

186.0 recorded events per 100 square miles against 64.2 statewide, and 1.6 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 1.5. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 29 Sep 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 30 Sep 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.