Grand Traverse County, Michigan
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 26055 · population 95,178 · 464 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 337 records for Grand Traverse County, Michigan from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 278 days; the most frequent are winter storm records (142 records). The deadliest single record is the September 1, 2000 lightning: 1 death and 1 injury. FEMA has issued 6 declarations naming the county since 1977, 4 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding” on June 30, 2026.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 337on 278 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 13 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $54Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 5strongest F4
- FEMA declarations
- 6latest 2026
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit Grand Traverse County most?
The most frequent records are winter storm records: 142 since 1996. 54% 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.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter storms | 142 | 141 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 0 | $7.2M | 10 of 83 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 91 | 67 | 1955-2025 | 0 | 2 | $17M | 38 of 83 |
| Hail | 52 | 40 | 1958-2026 | 0 | 0 | $6K | 25 of 83 |
| Floods | 20 | 17 | 1999-2023 | 0 | 0 | $3.0M | 14 of 83 |
| High wind and dust storms | 12 | 10 | 1998-2025 | 0 | 0 | $226K | 37 of 83 |
| Lightning | 7 | 5 | 2000-2025 | 1 | 1 | $293K | 13 of 83 |
| Extreme cold | 5 | 5 | 2007-2026 | 0 | 0 | $19M | 45 of 83 |
| Tornadoes | 5 | 5 | 1956-2025 | 0 | 0 | $7.4M | 56 of 83 |
| Heat | 2 | 2 | 2001-2018 | 0 | 0 | – | 30 of 83 |
| Drought | 1 | 1 | 2001-2001 | 0 | 0 | – | 22 of 83 |
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 Grand Traverse County had?
NOAA records 5 tornadoes in Grand Traverse County from 1956 to 2025, the strongest rated F4, with 0 deaths and 0 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 5 tornadoes whose track touched Grand Traverse County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 5, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person, 0 of them in Grand Traverse County.
| Date | Tornado | Rating | Path | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956-04-03 17:35, as SPC files it | Lake Ann | F4 | 50.3 mi | 1 |
| 1969-06-26 13:30, as SPC files it | Traverse | F3 | 6.4 mi | 0 |
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Michigan.
Every tornado record filed for Grand Traverse County (5)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-09-22 | Interlochen, Grand Traverse County | EFU 0.1 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1969-06-26 | Grand Traverse County | F3 6.4 mi x 600 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1964-05-08 | Grand Traverse County | F2 16.6 mi x 440 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1961-09-13 | Grand Traverse County | F2 14.4 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1956-04-03 | Grand Traverse County | F4 15.4 mi x 400 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
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, 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 Grand Traverse County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 21, 2025 lightning ($12,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-30 | HailTraverse City, Grand Traverse County | 0.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-15 | Winter StormGrand Traverse County · forecast zone Grand Traverse | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-29 | Cold/Wind ChillGrand Traverse County · forecast zone Grand Traverse | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-22 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillGrand Traverse County · forecast zone Grand Traverse | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-19 | Winter StormGrand Traverse County · forecast zone Grand Traverse | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-10 | Winter StormGrand Traverse County · forecast zone Grand Traverse | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-12-28 | Winter StormGrand Traverse County · forecast zone Grand Traverse | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-12-28 | Winter StormGrand Traverse County · forecast zone Grand Traverse | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-11-26 | Winter StormGrand Traverse County · forecast zone Grand Traverse | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-11-09 | Winter StormGrand Traverse County · forecast zone Grand Traverse | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-09-22 | TornadoInterlochen, Grand Traverse County | EFU 0.1 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-07-23 | Thunderstorm WindTraverse City A, Grand Traverse County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
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
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-09-01 | LightningTraverse City, Grand Traverse County A father and son were struck by lightning. See narrative below. | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 1989-10-14 | Thunderstorm WindGrand Traverse County | 0 | 2 | – |
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-08-02 | Thunderstorm WindTraverse City, Grand Traverse County | 65 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $9.7M |
| 2012-03-02 | Heavy SnowGrand Traverse County · forecast zone Grand Traverse | 0 | 0 | $7.2M | |
| 2012-10-06 | Flash FloodGrawn, Grand Traverse County | 0 | 0 | $2.3M | |
| 2020-05-28 | Flash FloodTraverse City, Grand Traverse County | 0 | 0 | $353K | |
| 2006-07-17 | Thunderstorm WindTraverse City, Grand Traverse County | 65 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $51K |
| 2025-06-21 | LightningTraverse City A, Grand Traverse County | 0 | 0 | $12K |
Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $250K, in the dollars of the day) holds: April 3, 1956 (tornado, Grand Traverse County); May 8, 1964 (tornado, Grand Traverse County); June 26, 1969 (tornado, Grand Traverse County).
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 Grand Traverse 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).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 19 | 65 | 37 | 21 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 3 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 21 | 18 |
| Hail | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 18 | 13 |
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 1 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| High wind and dust storms | – | – | – | – | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).
What time of year?
54% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 41 · Feb 32 · Mar 17 · Apr 25 · May 14 · Jun 41 · Jul 46 · Aug 26 · Sep 20 · Oct 12 · Nov 24 · Dec 39 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Grand Traverse County
FEMA's register lists 6 declarations that include Grand Traverse County: 2 major disasters, 4 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for biological (2) and flood (1).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-30 | DR-4925 | Flood | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2020-03-27 | DR-4494 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3455 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2005-09-07 | EM-3225 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 1978-01-27 | EM-3057 | Snowstorm | Blizzards & Snowstorms |
| 1977-03-02 | EM-3035 | Drought | Drought |
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 Grand Traverse County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 20 flood or flash flood records for Grand Traverse County from 1999 to 2023, on 17 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Grand Traverse County ranks 1596th of 2,942 U.S. counties.
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.1 million on 58 claims filed in Grand Traverse County; the most in one year was 11 in 2026. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1986: 6 · 1987: 2 · 1992: 1 · 1996: 1 · 1997: 1 · 1999: 2 · 2000: 3 · 2001: 1 · 2002: 1 · 2004: 1 · 2012: 6 · 2014: 3 · 2017: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2020: 10 · 2021: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2026: 11; the other years: 0.
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 Grand Traverse County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Grand Traverse County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $31.2 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.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Weather | Very High | $1.6M | 31 a year (modeled) |
| Cold Wave | Relatively High | $16M | about once a year (modeled) |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | $550K | 26 a year (modeled) |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | $862K | about once a year (modeled) |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | $16K | once in about 5 years (modeled) |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | $10M | once in about 2 years (modeled) |
| Hail | Relatively Low | $373K | about once a year (modeled) |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | $1.2M | once in about 14 years (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Grand Traverse County
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 Grand Traverse CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Grand Traverse County's FEMA declarations (CSV)6 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis