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Calhoun County, Michigan severe weather history spans 390 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 72.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,294 nationally and #14 in Michigan.
390
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
31
Direct injuries
$49.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Calhoun County, Michigan severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Calhoun County, Michigan severe weather history averages 5.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 104 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 116 events fall before 1990 and 274 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Calhoun County, Michigan record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $37.8M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Calhoun County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 284 | 1 | $37.8M | 100 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 77 | 0 | $1.0M | 2.75 | 1963–2026 |
| Tornado | 18 | 0 | $5.3M | F3 | 1964–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 7 | 0 | $425K | 0 | 2000–2011 |
| Flood | 2 | 0 | $5.0M | 0 | 2011–2013 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $11K | 0 | 1998–1998 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2021–2021 |
Decade by decade
Calhoun County, Michigan severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
22 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 16 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-03-27 | EF3 | 0 | 18 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-07-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 42.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1955-05-28 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 64.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-02-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-06-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-07-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-07-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-06-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-08-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-09-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.8 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Calhoun County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 12, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | PENNFIELD | 1 | 2 | $500K |
| Mar 28, 1991 | Tornado | 0 | 18 | $250K | |
| Oct 24, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | TEKONSHA | 0 | 6 | $1.0M |
| Aug 23, 1964 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| May 29, 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | WEST LEROY | 0 | 2 | $25.0M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The bowing segment of a line echo wave pattern caused extensive damage to homes, businesses, and utilities on the south side of Battle Creek along E Columbia Ave. Approximately 600 homes were damaged with 76 of those homes having been destroyed. Also, 21 businesses were damaged of which 4 were destroyed. To the north and east of the Battle Creek area, two dozen rural properties also sustained damage. Throughout the county, over 40,000 customers were without power and thousands of trees were either uprooted or snapped. The damage path was 33 miles long and ranged from 0.5 mile up to 2 miles in width.
An NWS storm survey indicated that winds reached up to 80 to 90 mph near to northeast of Albion in Calhoun county, where numerous trees and power lines were blown down with extensive power outages. One roof was also blown off a home. A 74 mph wind gust was measured at Brooks field.
The tornado touched down near the intersection of Capitol Avenue and East Stafford Avenue just east of Goguac Lake and moved east just missing Riverside Elementary School and then moving along Chapel Hill Drive where it reached its peak intensity. The tornado then weakened as it moved across Interstate 194 before finally dissipating as it crossed 6 1/2 mile road. Three houses and Chapel Hill Methodist Church suffered partial loss of their roofs which along with approximately 100 snapped and uprooted trees resulted in a rating of EF1 along Chapel Hill Drive. The remainder of the track was rated EF0 where clusters of trees were uprooted or snapped with only minor damage occurring to houses in the path.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
133,778
Population (ACS)
$163K
Median home value
9
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 27, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| Sep 23, 2003 | Other | POWER OUTAGE | EM |
| Jan 10, 2001 | Snowstorm | SNOW | EM |
| Sep 8, 1980 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Calhoun County, Michigan?
390 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $49.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Calhoun County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 284 recorded events — 72.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Calhoun County?
22 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 16 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Calhoun County?
9 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Calhoun County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Calhoun County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Calhoun County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 75 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Calhoun County, Michigan severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Branch County 329
- Cass County 306
- Berrien County 505
- Charlevoix County 81
- Benzie County 62
- Cheboygan County 97
Cite this page
“Calhoun County, Michigan.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/michigan/calhoun-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.