Storm hazard · NOAA Storm Events Database
Lakeshore Flood in the United States
National statistics for lakeshore flood events from the NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025): how often they occur, where they hit hardest, and the human and property toll.
- 311
- Events recorded
- 2
- Fatalities
- $133.7M
- Property damage
- 9
- States affected
The verdict
NOAA ranks lakeshore flood #39 of 54 by event count, yet its combined-damage rank is higher at #24. The <0.1% event share therefore understates its relative loss position in the 2015-2025 catalog.
- #39 of 54
- NOAA hazard types, by event count
- <0.1%
- share of all NOAA storm events, 2015-2025
- 311
- lakeshore flood events, 9 states affected
Ranking reflects NOAA Storm Events Database event counts, not fatalities, injuries, or damage severity; a rare hazard type can still be individually catastrophic.
How dangerous are Lakeshore Flood events in the U.S.?
The loss ranking is the stronger warning against reading frequency alone. Lakeshore Flood is #39 of 54 by event count but rises to #24 for combined property and crop damage. Its losses make up 0.1% of the catalog total, while its fatalities rank #40 and represent <0.1% of recorded deaths. Fewer events can still produce an outsized financial record.
The annual record is uneven rather than steadily rising or falling. The peak year on record was 2020, logging 139 events and $50.0M in property damage in a single calendar year. The most recent year in the dataset is 2025 with 1 events recorded. Across the full 10-year window, annual event counts reflect natural year-to-year noise given how infrequently this hazard is recorded at all.
Per event, this hazard is far more dangerous than its frequency suggests. It ranks #39 by how often it is recorded among the 44 hazard types with at least 100 events, but #29 by fatalities per event, at 6.4 deaths per 1,000 recorded events. Recorded damage averages $430.0K per event. A reader scanning total counts would underestimate the risk of encountering one.
Where this hazard actually strikes varies sharply by region. The three states absorbing the largest share of events are Michigan (120 events, 2 fatalities), New York (70 events, 0 fatalities), Wisconsin (46 events, 0 fatalities), a pattern driven more by climatology than by any one state's vulnerability. At the other end, states such as Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Vermont report far fewer events, often reflecting hazard climatology rather than underreporting.
The cumulative NOAA record has a smaller reported human toll than most hazard types on this measure: 2 fatalities and 2 injuries among 311 events. PlainHazard's low human-toll band means fewer than five recorded fatalities during 2015-2025. It does not mean that an individual event is harmless, or that unrecorded impacts are zero.
NOAA entries are reports filed by local National Weather Service offices. Counts therefore reflect both observed weather and reporting practice; they do not measure unreported events, household exposure, or the probability of a future event at one address.
Lakeshore Flood by State
Download all 31 state-year rows as CSV . Source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
This is one of the most geographically concentrated hazards in the NOAA catalog: the five most-affected states absorb 93% of all 311 recorded events.
Lakeshore Flood by Year
Recorded lakeshore flood events averaged 37 per year across 2015-2019 versus 28 per year across 2020-2025: a 24% lower recorded rate in the later window. Reporting intensity varies by forecast office, so window-to-window comparisons describe the record, not a verified physical trend.
| Year | Events | Fatalities | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | $0 |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | $500.0K |
| 2021 | 17 | 0 | $1.5M |
| 2020 | 139 | 0 | $50.0M |
| 2019 | 125 | 0 | $51.5M |
| 2018 | 10 | 0 | $25.9M |
| 2017 | 10 | 2 | $4.2M |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | $3.0K |
What this record shows for Lakeshore Flood
Lakeshore Flood ranks #39 of 54 NOAA hazard types by event count; Michigan leads the geography table with 120 events, and 2020 is the peak year at 139 events.
- Michigan carries the largest share of recorded lakeshore flood events in this catalog. Michigan profile
- Compare how often this hazard appears against other NOAA event types nationally. All hazards
- Lakeshore Flood events concentrate unevenly - the five most-affected states already account for a large share of the national lakeshore flood record in this extract. Hazard risk by region
NOAA Storm Events counts reflect filed reports, not a forecast or household-level probability. For current threats follow the National Weather Service and local officials; in an emergency call 911.
Further reading for Lakeshore Flood
Hazard risk by region
Lakeshore Flood events concentrate unevenly - the five most-affected states already account for a large share of the national lakeshore flood record in this extract.
More PlainHazard guides
- Preparing for natural disasters - household checklist (not hazard-specific advice).
- Hazard risk by region - how exposure varies across U.S. regions.
- Climate change and disasters - national severity and frequency context.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which states record the most lakeshore flood events?
How much damage do lakeshore flood events cause?
What year had the most lakeshore flood events?
How dangerous are lakeshore flood events?
Which states have the fewest lakeshore flood events?
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (2015-2025) NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (2015-2025) For informational purposes only
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.