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Michigan

The recorded hazard history of every county in Michigan: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.

Michigan has 36,322 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 83 counties, led by damaging wind: 64.2 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.

NCEI attributes 451 deaths and 5,273 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $6.7B. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are Macomb, Wayne and Genesee.

FEMA lists 46 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding (30 Jun 2026). NFIP policyholders filed 14,954 flood claims since 1978, $150M paid; 16,036 residential policies are in force.

1,078events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

36,322events since 195064.2 per 100 sq mi (US 56.0)

46disaster declarations since 1953last 30 Jun 2026

14,954NFIP flood claims$150M paid

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. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Compared with the United States

Measure	Michigan	US
Recorded events since 1950	36,322	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	64.2	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	36.1	59.6
Deaths recorded by NCEI	451	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$6.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.5	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$15K	$43K
Residential flood policies in force	16,036	3,139,862

Hazard mix

Wind14,692

Winter10,836

Hail6,036

Flood1,305

Tornado1,291

Cold1,075

Heat368

Lightning327

Other209

Fog100

Drought54

Wildfire29

Hazard	Events	Share of US	Deaths
■ Wind	14,692	2.1%	72
■ Winter	10,836	3.8%	52
■ Hail	6,036	1.4%	—
■ Flood	1,305	0.7%	12
■ Tornado	1,291	1.6%	253
■ Cold	1,075	2.0%	30
■ Heat	368	0.7%	9
■ Lightning	327	1.8%	19
■ Other	209	0.5%	1
■ Fog	100	0.5%	3
■ Drought	54	0.1%	—
■ Wildfire	29	0.3%	—

Events by decade

Hail: 32Tornado: 109Wind: 86

Hail: 129Tornado: 123Wind: 376

Hail: 188Tornado: 251Wind: 517

Hail: 404Tornado: 212Wind: 1137

Hail: 986Tornado: 173Flood: 242Wind: 2580Winter: 1383Heat: 35Cold: 97Wildfire: 4Lightning: 64Fog: 12Other: 12

Hail: 2306Tornado: 160Flood: 475Wind: 4185Winter: 3957Heat: 125Cold: 278Drought: 51Wildfire: 13Lightning: 193Fog: 60Other: 38

Hail: 1358Tornado: 145Flood: 320Wind: 3426Winter: 3586Heat: 136Cold: 448Drought: 3Wildfire: 7Lightning: 56Fog: 20Other: 142

Hail: 633Tornado: 118Flood: 268Wind: 2385Winter: 1910Heat: 72Cold: 252Wildfire: 5Lightning: 14Fog: 8Other: 17

2271950s6281960s9561970s1,7531980s5,5881990s11,8412000s9,6472010s5,6822020s

Recorded events in Michigan by decade and hazard group, including events recorded by forecast zone. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Counties by events per 100 square miles

County	Events	Last 12 mo	Per 100 sq mi	Per 10k residents	Dominant	Tornadoes	Hail	Declarations	NFIP claims	NRI risk
Macomb County	894	20	186.5	10.2	Wind	22	187	18	1,437	Relatively High
Wayne County	1,138	26	186.0	6.4	Wind	42	223	17	2,892	Relatively High
Genesee County	914	12	143.5	22.6	Wind	51	215	14	467	Relatively Moderate
Oakland County	1,239	27	142.9	9.8	Wind	36	241	15	582	Relatively High
Washtenaw County	988	12	139.9	26.7	Wind	29	261	12	133	Relatively Moderate
Berrien County	677	10	119.2	44.2	Wind	32	109	12	310	Relatively Moderate
Monroe County	642	15	116.9	41.3	Wind	41	112	11	1,672	Relatively Moderate
Livingston County	604	9	106.8	31.0	Wind	29	88	9	128	Relatively Low
St. Joseph County	497	22	99.3	81.8	Wind	18	73	8	110	Relatively Low
Bay County	436	10	98.6	42.3	Wind	14	99	14	515	Relatively Low
Cass County	477	23	97.3	92.7	Wind	21	57	9	15	Relatively Low
Ottawa County	529	27	93.9	17.7	Wind	25	108	16	336	Relatively Moderate
Lenawee County	666	10	88.8	67.3	Wind	33	136	6	60	Relatively Low
Kalamazoo County	487	9	86.7	18.7	Wind	27	100	12	291	Relatively Moderate
Branch County	437	13	86.3	97.1	Wind	24	72	6	33	Relatively Low
Lapeer County	532	8	82.2	60.1	Wind	20	86	11	27	Relatively Low
St. Clair County	591	12	81.9	36.9	Wind	23	95	12	1,184	Relatively Moderate
Shiawassee County	434	10	81.7	63.9	Wind	35	55	14	62	Relatively Low
Midland County	420	6	81.2	50.3	Wind	10	103	14	547	Relatively Low
Saginaw County	647	16	80.8	34.1	Wind	30	126	18	798	Relatively Moderate
Muskegon County	397	7	78.8	22.5	Wind	8	66	14	131	Relatively Low
Leelanau County	271	7	78.1	119.8	Winter	3	37	5	20	Relatively Low
Kent County	654	29	77.0	9.9	Wind	45	142	13	676	Relatively Moderate
Alger County	692	32	75.6	784.5	Winter	7	84	5	7	Very Low
Keweenaw County	407	17	75.4	1,931.7	Winter	2	7	5	0	Very Low
Van Buren County	448	10	73.7	59.2	Wind	19	69	13	31	Relatively Low
Grand Traverse County	337	12	72.6	35.2	Winter	5	52	6	58	Relatively Low
Hillsdale County	427	4	71.4	93.8	Wind	26	62	9	13	Relatively Low
Ingham County	392	14	70.5	13.8	Wind	29	79	12	397	Relatively Moderate
Antrim County	329	12	69.2	138.2	Winter	13	37	7	6	Very Low
Calhoun County	481	10	68.1	35.9	Wind	18	77	9	60	Relatively Low
Allegan County	558	19	67.6	46.1	Wind	37	77	17	69	Relatively Low
Dickinson County	503	18	66.1	195.1	Winter	9	90	5	6	Relatively Low
Barry County	358	18	64.7	56.8	Wind	22	59	14	281	Relatively Low
Otsego County	327	11	63.5	129.3	Winter	5	57	7	0	Very Low
Baraga County	564	18	62.8	686.5	Winter	2	56	7	6	Very Low
Gogebic County	677	22	61.4	471.4	Winter	5	68	9	10	Very Low
Benzie County	196	9	61.3	107.6	Winter	4	20	6	11	Very Low
Marquette County	1,095	29	60.5	165.7	Winter	11	219	11	21	Relatively Low
Tuscola County	487	12	60.5	92.0	Wind	22	89	12	133	Relatively Low
Charlevoix County	251	8	60.3	96.2	Winter	4	34	8	10	Very Low
Clinton County	333	9	58.8	41.9	Wind	19	47	10	29	Relatively Low
Jackson County	394	3	56.1	24.6	Wind	19	62	10	41	Relatively Low
Eaton County	314	9	54.6	28.8	Wind	26	67	14	149	Relatively Low
Arenac County	197	7	54.2	131.6	Wind	9	45	11	119	Very Low
Ionia County	309	15	54.1	46.0	Wind	25	37	16	37	Relatively Low
Huron County	450	14	53.8	144.0	Wind	18	81	8	49	Relatively Low
Emmet County	251	10	53.7	73.3	Winter	5	18	7	8	Very Low
Mason County	257	6	51.9	87.5	Winter	5	23	9	13	Very Low
Roscommon County	268	6	51.5	113.4	Wind	9	56	7	3	Relatively Low
Delta County	574	16	49.0	155.9	Winter	12	89	6	28	Relatively Low
Oceana County	263	7	48.9	98.1	Winter	5	41	13	30	Very Low
Ontonagon County	629	19	48.0	1,071.9	Winter	3	55	8	9	Very Low
Menominee County	484	19	46.4	207.7	Winter	9	91	8	48	Relatively Low
Manistee County	251	7	46.3	99.0	Winter	2	47	8	29	Very Low
Alpena County	262	9	45.8	90.7	Wind	14	49	7	17	Very Low
Iosco County	251	8	45.7	98.9	Wind	14	71	11	81	Very Low
Isabella County	261	3	45.6	40.3	Wind	12	50	11	37	Relatively Low
Luce County	404	11	44.9	761.0	Winter	4	29	5	1	Very Low
Ogemaw County	247	9	43.8	119.2	Wind	16	51	7	0	Very Low
Crawford County	241	8	43.3	182.5	Winter	12	45	9	1	Very Low
Montcalm County	305	5	43.2	45.4	Wind	11	54	12	9	Relatively Low
Gratiot County	242	11	42.6	58.3	Wind	15	42	12	36	Relatively Low
Kalkaska County	238	6	42.5	132.4	Winter	8	19	7	0	Very Low
Gladwin County	208	4	41.5	81.6	Wind	10	41	12	31	Very Low
Sanilac County	396	4	41.1	97.8	Wind	21	64	12	14	Relatively Low
Wexford County	223	8	39.5	65.8	Winter	8	38	7	16	Very Low
Mecosta County	218	2	39.3	54.5	Wind	11	39	13	64	Relatively Low
Montmorency County	203	9	37.1	218.4	Winter	6	45	8	0	Very Low
Iron County	425	20	36.4	365.3	Winter	9	62	7	3	Relatively Low
Clare County	201	2	35.6	64.7	Wind	10	39	9	8	Relatively Low
Oscoda County	199	8	35.2	239.4	Winter	7	51	8	0	Very Low
Newaygo County	292	7	34.8	58.1	Wind	14	54	13	153	Relatively Low
Missaukee County	187	8	33.1	123.6	Winter	7	37	7	0	Very Low
Cheboygan County	236	11	33.0	91.6	Winter	7	22	8	36	Relatively Low
Osceola County	185	4	32.7	80.1	Winter	13	27	14	66	Very Low
Lake County	182	5	32.1	147.9	Winter	4	21	9	46	Very Low
Alcona County	213	10	31.6	208.1	Wind	12	57	9	15	Very Low
Presque Isle County	196	8	29.8	149.7	Winter	7	36	7	1	Very Low
Houghton County	300	8	29.7	80.4	Wind	1	78	9	6	Very Low
Chippewa County	261	1	16.7	70.9	Winter	7	54	7	6	Very Low
Mackinac County	158	0	15.5	144.9	Winter	4	18	7	6	Very Low
Schoolcraft County	119	1	10.2	148.2	Hail	3	44	6	2	Very Low

Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).

Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force

County	Claims, last 10 years	Policies in force	Claims per 100 policies	Claims since 1978	Paid
Midland County	411	289	142.2	547	$28M
Kalamazoo County	96	172	55.8	291	$5.1M
Arenac County	55	100	55.0	119	$2.1M
Barry County	70	181	38.7	281	$3.1M
Saginaw County	267	841	31.7	798	$12M
Grand Traverse County	30	126	23.8	58	$1.1M
Berrien County	70	304	23.0	310	$4.4M
St. Clair County	283	1,248	22.7	1,184	$5.2M
Ottawa County	72	318	22.6	336	$3.4M
Bay County	84	377	22.3	515	$2.5M
Iosco County	40	183	21.9	81	$841K
Monroe County	177	822	21.5	1,672	$9.9M
Isabella County	23	110	20.9	37	$543K
Kent County	104	555	18.7	676	$10M
Wayne County	628	3,357	18.7	2,892	$14M

Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.

Federal disaster declarations by year

195319902026

Declarations touching Michigan by year declared, 1953 to 2026; each disaster number counted once.

Incident type	Declarations
Flood	14
Severe Storm	10
Tornado	6
Snowstorm	5
Dam/Levee Break	2
Biological	2
Severe Ice Storm	1
Toxic Substances	1
Hurricane	1
Other	1

Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
30 Jun 2026	DR-4925	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	37
22 Jul 2025	DR-4880	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storm	13
8 Feb 2024	DR-4757	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	9
15 Jul 2021	DR-4607	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes	5
9 Jul 2020	DR-4547	Major disaster	Dam/Levee Break	Severe Storms And Flooding	5
21 May 2020	EM-3525	Emergency	Dam/Levee Break	Severe Storms And Flooding	2
27 Mar 2020	DR-4494	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	83
13 Mar 2020	EM-3455	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	83
2 Aug 2018	DR-4381	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	3
2 Aug 2017	DR-4326	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	4
16 Jan 2016	EM-3375	Emergency	Toxic Substances	Contaminated Water	1
25 Sep 2014	DR-4195	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	3
18 Jun 2013	DR-4121	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	16
14 Jul 2008	DR-1777	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	12
7 Sep 2005	EM-3225	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	83

Flood insurance claims by year

197820022026

NFIP claims in Michigan by year of loss, 1978 to 2026.

14,954 claims, 10,285 paid, $150M in total; 1,076 repetitive-loss and 86 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in Michigan with flood claims (330).

Year by year

Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1951

Questions and answers

Which Michigan counties have the most recorded tornadoes?

Genesee (51), Kent (45) and Wayne (42), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.

Which Michigan counties have the most flood insurance claims?

Wayne (2,892), Monroe (1,672) and Macomb (1,437) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.

How many federal disaster declarations has Michigan had?

46 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 1 of them in 2026 so far.

How does Michigan compare with the national rate?

64.2 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 1.5 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.

Provenance

NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.