PlainHazard

Michigan drought

Every recorded drought record since 1996 · 29 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 54 drought records in Michigan from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 14 a year since 2000. The costliest was the July 1, 2001 drought ($250 million in 2025 dollars). Michigan ranks 42nd of 51 states and territories by count and 45th of 50 per square mile.

Drought in Michigan, 1996 to 2026

Drought records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
541996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
14average
Deaths
00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$250Mas filed
Busiest year
200124 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are drought records common in Michigan?

Michigan averages about 14 drought records a year since 2000, 42nd of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2001 (24). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Michigan records 9.5 drought records since 1996, 45th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Hawaii 2624
  2. 2. New Jersey 1205
  3. 3. Delaware 1062
  4. 4. Oklahoma 971
  5. 5. Georgia 900
  6. 6. Texas 711
  7. 7. New Mexico 528
  8. 8. Alabama 527
  9. 9. Tennessee 477
  10. 10. Iowa 466
  11. 45. Michigan 9.5

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Michigan have the most drought records?

Per square mile, Charlevoix County leads Michigan: 2 days with a drought record since 1996, 4.8 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Mackinac County has the most drought records (4 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Charlevoix County 4.8 (2)
  2. Bay County 4.5 (2)
  3. Emmet County 4.3 (2)
  4. Macomb County 4.2 (2)
  5. Mackinac County 3.9 (4)
  6. Midland County 3.9 (2)
  7. Shiawassee County 3.8 (2)
  8. Monroe County 3.6 (2)
  9. Livingston County 3.5 (2)
  10. Wayne County 3.3 (2)
  11. Genesee County 3.1 (2)
  12. Lapeer County 3.1 (2)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is drought season in Michigan?

63% of its drought records since 1996 fell in August and September. The busiest month is September (22 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 0 · Feb 0 · Mar 0 · Apr 0 · May 1 · Jun 2 · Jul 17 · Aug 12 · Sep 22 · Oct 0 · Nov 0 · Dec 0 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

The costliest drought records in Michigan

Michigan: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2001-07-01 DroughtWayne County · forecast zone Wayne 0 0 $250M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are drought records becoming more frequent in Michigan?

Michigan's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Drought: Michigan and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeMichiganUnited StatesMichigan's share
1996-9905,6000
2000s5118,5710.27%
2010s331,4410.01%
2020-26030,1470

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent drought records in Michigan

The 1 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2001-07-01 DroughtWayne County · forecast zone Wayne 0 0 $250M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

Federal disaster declarations for drought records in Michigan

FEMA has declared 1 disaster in Michigan for drought, counting its incident type and declarations that name the hazard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 0 were major disasters, the latest on March 2, 1977.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
1977-03-02EM-3035Drought44

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

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