Van Buren County, Michigan

What hazards hit Van Buren County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 184 since 1958. 43% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1958 fell in June and July. 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 Van Buren County had?

NOAA records 19 tornadoes in Van Buren County from 1954 to 2010, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 27 injuries recorded in the county. That is 33rd of 83 Michigan counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. 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 19 tornadoes whose track touched Van Buren County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 19, the same count); 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 Van Buren County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the February 27, 2024 thunderstorm wind ($235,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

A trained spotter three miles south southwest of Lawton reported that several trees and power lines were blown down onto county road 669 just north of 79th street. Several trees and limbs were blown down onto homes and outbuildings in the area.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1163622)

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 Van Buren 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?

43% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1958 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Van Buren County

FEMA's register lists 13 declarations that include Van Buren County: 7 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for snowstorm (4) and flood (4).

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 Van Buren County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 10 flood or flash flood records for Van Buren County from 1996 to 2013, on 10 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Van Buren County ranks 1887th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $221,000 on 31 claims filed in Van Buren County; the most in one year was 4 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 Van Buren County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Van Buren County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $20.4 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 Van Buren County

1. Lake County, IL 869
2. Berrien County 746
3. Allegan County 559
4. St. Joseph County 497
5. Kalamazoo County 487
6. Cass County 477
7. Van Buren County 452

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
• Severe thunderstorm wind in MichiganThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, 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 Van Buren CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Van Buren County's FEMA declarations (CSV)13 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis