Michigan floods
Every recorded flood since 1996 · 81 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,305 floods and flash floods in Michigan from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 40 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the June 7, 2008 flash flood: 3 deaths and $11.0 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 4 records. Michigan ranks 37th of 52 states and territories by count and 40th of 51 per square mile.
Floods in Michigan, 1996 to 2026
Flood 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
- 1,3051996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 40average
- Deaths
- 128 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $4.0Bas filed
- Busiest year
- 2020138 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 floods and flash floods common in Michigan?
Michigan averages about 40 floods and flash floods a year since 2000, 37th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2020 (138). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Michigan records 231 floods and flash floods since 1996, 40th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
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 floods and flash floods?
Per square mile, Wayne County leads Michigan: 92 days with a flood since 1996, 150.4 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Wayne County has the most flood records (117 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).
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 flood season in Michigan?
Michigan's floods and flash floods by month. The busiest month is May (288 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 37 · Feb 149 · Mar 65 · Apr 167 · May 288 · Jun 202 · Jul 139 · Aug 109 · Sep 73 · Oct 53 · Nov 18 · Dec 5 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest floods and flash floods in Michigan?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-06-07 | Flash FloodCastle Park, Allegan County One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. Severe thunderstorms produced several reports of damaging wind gusts and also caused significant flooding. In fact a presidential disaster declaration was issued for Allegan, Barry, Eaton and Ottawa counties. | 3 | 0 | $11M | |
| 2001-02-10 | FloodMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe The River Raisin at Dundee crested at flood stage of 650 feet at 1 am on the 13th. Further downstream, the River Raisin at Monroe rose above flood stage of 9 feet at 7 pm on the 10th. The river crested at 9.4 feet at noon on the 13th.Flooded basements and roads were common across Monroe County. Some underpasses in the ... | 3 | 0 | $42K | |
| 2017-10-24 | Lakeshore FloodMarquette County · forecast zone Marquette Extensive lake shore flooding was reported along Lake Superior from Marquette to Shot Point from north storm force winds building waves as high as 25 to 30 feet. Two people drowned when they were swept off Black Rocks at Presque Isle Park in Marquette during the storm. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter from Air Station ... | 2 | 0 | $722K | |
| 1996-06-21 | Flash FloodSrn 1/2 Of Co., Bay County | 1 | 0 | $4.1M | |
| 1996-06-18 | Flash FloodCountywide, Oakland County A series of heavy thunderstorms moved across Oakland county during the afternoon on the 18th, producing rainfall amounts of around 3 inches across much of the county. A 24-hour rainfall of 3.11 inches was recorded at the National Weather Service Forecast Office at White Lake. One man drowned in West Bloomfield ... | 1 | 0 | $941K | |
| 2008-06-08 | FloodRobinson, Ottawa County Law enforcement near Rusk in Ottawa county determined that a man drowned while apparently tending to a drainage ditch with rising waters near a driveway. This occurred at Lake Michigan Drive and 112th Avenue in Robinson township. | 1 | 0 | $14K | |
| 2018-06-17 | Flash FloodAlcone, Houghton County Three to nearly seven inches of rainfall in the early morning hours of the 17th caused widespread and catastrophic flash flooding across much of Houghton County from Chassell through Houghton/Hancock to Dollar Bay, Hubbell and Lake Linden. The NOAA Precipitation Frequency Atlas indicated a 1000-year recurrence ... | 1 | 0 | $118M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest floods and flash floods in Michigan
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-08-11 | Flash FloodEast Rockwood, Wayne County One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $2.2B | |
| 2020-05-19 | Flash FloodEdenville, Midland County One storm episode: 7 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $254M | |
| 2021-06-26 | Flash FloodNorthville, Wayne County One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $163M | |
| 2004-05-23 | FloodMacomb County · forecast zone Macomb | 0 | 0 | $156M | |
| 2017-06-22 | Flash FloodColeman, Midland County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $144M | |
| 2018-06-17 | Flash FloodAlcone, Houghton County | 1 | 0 | $118M | |
| 2013-04-17 | FloodBelding, Ionia County One storm episode: 22 records in 22 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $111M | |
| 2017-06-23 | FloodWinn, Isabella County | 0 | 0 | $110M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are floods and flash floods 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.
| Decade | Michigan | United States | Michigan's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 242 | 20,986 | 1.2% |
| 2000s | 475 | 54,913 | 0.9% |
| 2010s | 320 | 68,322 | 0.5% |
| 2020-26 | 268 | 43,563 | 0.6% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent floods and flash floods in Michigan
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-24 | FloodL Anse, Baraga County | 0 | 0 | $1K | |
| 2026-04-13 | FloodSugar Loaf, Marquette County | 0 | 0 | $638K | |
| 2026-04-13 | FloodCrystal Falls Iron C, Iron County | 0 | 0 | $379K | |
| 2026-04-13 | FloodLoretto, Dickinson County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-13 | FloodTapiola, Houghton County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-12 | FloodFord River, Delta County | 0 | 0 | $550K | |
| 2026-04-12 | FloodFaithorn, Menominee County | 0 | 0 | $877K | |
| 2026-04-04 | FloodOrtonville, Oakland County | 0 | 0 | $500K | |
| 2026-04-04 | FloodColoma, Berrien County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-04 | FloodStevensville, Berrien County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-10 | FloodEastmont, Kent County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-10 | FloodGrandville Airport, Kent County | 0 | 0 | – |
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 floods and flash floods in Michigan
FEMA has declared 24 disasters in Michigan for floods and flash floods, counting its incident type and declarations that name flood in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 23 were major disasters, the latest on June 30, 2026.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-30 | DR-4925 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 37 |
| 2024-02-08 | DR-4757 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 9 |
| 2021-07-15 | DR-4607 | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes | 5 |
| 2020-07-09 | DR-4547 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 5 |
| 2020-05-21 | EM-3525 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 2 |
| 2018-08-02 | DR-4381 | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | 3 |
| 2017-08-02 | DR-4326 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 4 |
| 2014-09-25 | DR-4195 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 3 |
| 2013-06-18 | DR-4121 | Flooding | 16 |
| 2008-07-14 | DR-1777 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 12 |
| 2004-06-30 | DR-1527 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 26 |
| 2002-05-06 | DR-1413 | Flooding | 6 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Wayne County: the county's whole recordThe Michigan county with the most floods and flash floods per square mile
- Floods across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in MichiganTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
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- Hail in Michigan6,036 records