Benzie County, Michigan

What hazards hit Benzie County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 116 since 1996. 55% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The rank column places the county among Michigan's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Benzie County had?

NOAA records 4 tornadoes in Benzie County from 1956 to 1989, the strongest rated F4, with 2 deaths and 24 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 4 tornadoes whose track touched Benzie County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 4, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person, 2 of them in Benzie County.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Michigan.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Benzie County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the August 4, 2012 rip current (1 death).

A rip current fatality occurred near Peterson Beach, in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. During a family outing, a 40 year old male from Cincinnati went into the water to pull out two nephews who were struggling with waves and strong currents. He was able to get them to safety, but was unable to himself escape the water. A park ranger retrieved his body from about five feet water a half-hour later, and CPR was performed on site, but he was pronounced dead soon after arrival at a local hospital. Rescue personnel estimated waves of 3 to 5 feet at the time of the incident.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 410928)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Benzie County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

55% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Benzie County

FEMA's register lists 6 declarations that include Benzie County: 2 major disasters, 4 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for biological (2) and flood (1).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Benzie County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 5 flood or flash flood records for Benzie County from 2000 to 2020, on 5 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Benzie County ranks 2321st of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $87,000 on 11 claims filed in Benzie County; the most in one year was 3 in 2019. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Benzie County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Benzie County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $7.4 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Benzie County

1. Door County, WI 446
2. Grand Traverse County 337
3. Kewaunee County, WI 302
4. Leelanau County 273
5. Manistee County 252
6. Wexford County 223
7. Benzie County 198

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in MichiganEvery Michigan tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Winter storms in MichiganThe state's winter storm records, by county, year and month
• The Michigan recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Benzie CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Benzie County's FEMA declarations (CSV)6 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis