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Lenawee County, Michigan severe weather history spans 514 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 61.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #825 nationally and #7 in Michigan.
514
Recorded events
10
Direct deaths
98
Direct injuries
$35.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Lenawee County, Michigan severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Lenawee County, Michigan severe weather history averages 7.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 188 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 78 events fall before 1990 and 436 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Lenawee County, Michigan record is tornado, responsible for 9 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $26.7M 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 Lenawee County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 314 | 0 | $4.6M | 78 | 1962–2026 |
| Hail | 136 | 0 | $2.2M | 3 | 1963–2026 |
| Tornado | 33 | 9 | $26.7M | F4 | 1954–2021 |
| Lightning | 18 | 1 | $880K | 0 | 1997–2007 |
| Flash Flood | 10 | 0 | $435K | 0 | 1996–2010 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $300K | 0 | 2009–2020 |
Decade by decade
Lenawee County, Michigan severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
32 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 27 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-04-11 | EF4 | 23 | 294 | 90.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-04-11 | EF4 | 21 | 293 | 80.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1964-08-22 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-05-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-05-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-05-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-06-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-04-03 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 9.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1964-08-22 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 10.3 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Lenawee County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 12, 1965 | Tornado | 5 | 42 | $25.0M | |
| Apr 12, 1965 | Tornado | 4 | 41 | $0 | |
| Aug 1, 2003 | Lightning | ADRIAN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 9, 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | ADRIAN | 0 | 3 | $960K |
| Apr 4, 1974 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $25K | |
| Sep 26, 1986 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Aug 22, 1964 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| May 21, 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | ADRIAN | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado touched down at 148 am at Southard Highway and Woerner Road in Lenawee County. The tornado then tracked 2.5 miles east southeast to Springville Highway before lifting at 152 am. The path width was 250 yards with maximum winds of 90 mph as it crossed US 223, which is classified at an EF1. Several buildings were destroyed and numerous trees were downed by this tornado.
A tornado touched down south of Cemetery Rd and east of Silberhorn Hwy heading east-northeast. The tornado damaged at least five homes, four outbuildings, three barns, and numerous trees. Damage included a mix of uprooted trees, snapped large limbs, roof loss, collapsed barn walls, fallen power poles, a toppled chimney, blown out fencing, and an overturned air conditioner unit. Large sections of sheet metal from a destroyed small sheet metal silo were also lofted over a quarter mile downstream. The tornado inflicted damage on a final metal barn roof |as it neared the Lenawee/Monroe county line then lifted prior to |Rodesiler Hwy between Simpson and Stadler Rd. Estimated peak winds was 90 mph.
Lightning ignited a barn. The fire completely destroyed the barn and the contents inside it; including a truck, a tractor, a grain truck, a travel trailer, lawn mowers and tools. Firefighters managed to save the house next to the barn. The house sustained only minor damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
98,415
Population (ACS)
$197K
Median home value
6
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, 1999 | Snowstorm | MI – SEVERE WEATHER 1/2 /99 | EM |
| Jan 27, 1978 | Snowstorm | BLIZZARDS & SNOWSTORMS | EM |
| Apr 14, 1965 | Tornado | TORNADOES & SEVERE STORMS | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Lenawee County, Michigan?
514 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 10 direct deaths and $35.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Lenawee County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 314 recorded events — 61.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Lenawee County?
32 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 27 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Lenawee County?
6 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Lenawee County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Lenawee County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lenawee County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 70 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Lenawee 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
- Leelanau County 99
- Livingston County 456
- Luce County 84
- Lapeer County 390
- Mackinac County 59
- Lake County 79
Cite this page
“Lenawee County, Michigan.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/michigan/lenawee-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.