Osceola County, Michigan

What hazards hit Osceola County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 73 since 1996. 51% 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 Osceola County had?

NOAA records 13 tornadoes in Osceola County from 1959 to 2008, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 4 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 14 tornadoes whose track touched Osceola County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 13: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

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 Osceola County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the August 28, 2018 thunderstorm wind ($118,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

A narrow corridor of damaging winds was surveyed near Wells lake. The damage started just west of 170th ave and continued over Wells lake eastward. Several trees were uprooted or snapped west of the lake with winds estimated near 70 mph. More extensive damage was found on the east side of the lake where two boats were flipped and nearly every tree was snapped or uprooted. Eyewitness accounts of the winds lasting on the order of minutes as well as the prevalence of damage oriented northwestward suggested straight line winds rather than a tornado.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 785826)

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 Osceola 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?

51% 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 Osceola County

FEMA's register lists 14 declarations that include Osceola County: 8 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (5) and snowstorm (3).

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 Osceola County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 12 flood or flash flood records for Osceola County from 1996 to 2014, on 11 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Osceola County ranks 1514th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.7 million on 66 claims filed in Osceola County; the most in one year was 32 in 2014. 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 Osceola County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Osceola County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $6.4 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 Osceola County

1. Newaygo County 292
2. Isabella County 261
3. Wexford County 223
4. Mecosta County 218
5. Clare County 201
6. Missaukee County 187
7. Osceola County 185
8. Lake County 182

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 Osceola CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Osceola County's FEMA declarations (CSV)14 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis