Leelanau County, Michigan severe weather history spans 99 recorded events between 1975 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 52.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,886 nationally and #71 in Michigan.
99
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$24.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Leelanau County, Michigan severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Leelanau County, Michigan severe weather history averages 2.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 36 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 7 events fall before 1990 and 92 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $24.2M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Leelanau County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 52 | 0 | $24.2M | 78 | 1975–2025 |
| Hail | 37 | 0 | $85K | 3 | 1998–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 4 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 1999–2021 |
| Tornado | 3 | 0 | $295K | F1 | 1977–2011 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $40K | 0 | 2000–2007 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2023–2023 |
Decade by decade
Leelanau County, Michigan severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
4 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 3 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956-04-03 | EF4 | 1 | 25 | 50.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1978-08-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-07-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-06-22 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An NWS storm survey team estimated winds in excess of 80 mph crossing much of southern Leelanau County. Thousands of trees were downed in this swath, from the Sleeping Bear Dunes to Grand Traverse Bay. Many homes and vehicles were damaged by falling trees. Area roads were closed for days, in some cases weeks. Glen Arbor was inaccessible via road for two days, until M-22 could be cleared of trees and reopened. The county established drop points for residents to leave storm debris; these remained open for seven weeks after the storm. Across Leelanau County, two homes were destroyed, and over 700 were damaged in some way.
Hail to golfball-sized was reported in Empire, and up to three inches in diameter in Glen Arbor. Some vehicles were damaged, and a few homes lost windows and skylights. Considerable damage was done to orchards and vineyards in the area.
A strong area of low pressure moved across the western Great Lakes region on the 5th. Ahead of the system, unseasonably warm and moist air moved into Michigan, causing showers and thunderstorms to develop. A few strong to severe wind gusts were associated with the thunderstorms, with a television station west of Traverse City reporting damage to a satellite dish. As the low passed east of Michigan strong non-convective wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph were common, causing some power outages across northern Michigan.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
22,734
Population (ACS)
$458K
Median home value
5
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 |
| Jan 27, 1978 | Snowstorm | BLIZZARDS & SNOWSTORMS | EM |
| Mar 2, 1977 | Drought | DROUGHT | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Leelanau County, Michigan?
99 events are on record between 1975 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $24.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Leelanau County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 52 recorded events — 52.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Leelanau County?
4 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 3 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Leelanau County?
5 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Leelanau County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Leelanau County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Leelanau County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 48 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Leelanau 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
- Lapeer County 390
- Lenawee County 514
- Lake County 79
- Livingston County 456
- Luce County 84
- Keweenaw County 41
Cite this page
“Leelanau County, Michigan.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/michigan/leelanau-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.