287
Recorded events
7
Direct deaths
60
Direct injuries
$83.0M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Kent County, Michigan: 287 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 87. That places the county #501 nationally and #11 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Kent County, Michigan: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Kent County is the 1990s, when 61 of the county's 287 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Kent County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 57.7% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #501 for this hazard and #11 within Michigan, putting it in the 84.0 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Kent County with 65 recorded events, while Feb is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25, 2023 | SAND LAKE | 61 | 3 | 0 | $10.0M |
| Jul 11, 2011 | BYRON CENTER | 70 | 1 | 1 | $5.0M |
| Jul 28, 2000 | CASCADE | 53 | 1 | 1 | $20K |
| May 17, 1999 | WYOMING | 61 | 1 | 1 | $50K |
| Jul 24, 2022 | EAGLE MILLS | 61 | 1 | 0 | $500K |
| May 31, 1998 | SAND LAKE | 0 | 0 | 53 | $49.3M |
| Jun 21, 2011 | (GRR)KENT CO ARPT GR | 50 | 0 | 4 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 14, 2026 | EAST GRAND RAPIDS | 52 | $0 |
| Apr 14, 2026 | ALTO | 61 | $0 |
| Apr 14, 2026 | MC CORDS | 70 | $0 |
| Apr 14, 2026 | (GRR)KENT CO ARPT GR | 70 | $0 |
| Apr 14, 2026 | WESTGATE | 52 | $0 |
| Mar 10, 2026 | BYRON CENTER | 52 | $0 |
| Sep 21, 2025 | BOWEN | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 9, 2025 | CEDAR SPGS | 52 | $0 |
| May 16, 2025 | (GRR)KENT CO ARPT GR | 53 | $0 |
| May 16, 2025 | CALEDONIA | 52 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Kent County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Radar data indicates the northern end of a strong bow echo moved east into southwestern Kent county at 10:45 a.m. and raced east northeast producing significant wind damage and exited far east central Kent county near Lowell at around 11:10 a.m. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down and uprooted in and near towns including Cutlerville, Wyoming and Kentwood.||A 38 year old man was killed inside his garage along 68th street SE in Cutlerville when wind gusts of up to 80 mph ripped a large tree and its roots out of the ground and toppling it onto the garage, splitting it in half. In addition, a woman suffered minor injuries when a tree fell on her home in Cutlerville.
Numerous large trees were snapped off or uprooted and there were numerous power outages, mostly in a more concentrated damage path just northwest to north and northeast of downtown Grand Rapids from Walker Avenue east to Fish Ladder Park and Lookout Park. One fatality occurred just north of downtown Grand Rapids due to wind blowing down a large hinged steel door on a shipping container onto the man.
Gusty thunderstorm winds flattened a house under construction in Wyoming in Kent County, causing one fatality and injuring another person. A 70 mile per hour wind gust was recorded in Grandville. Numerous trees were downed across the county. A 75 mile per hour wind gust was recorded in Grand Rapids.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Kent County, Michigan?
287 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Kent County between 1956 and 2026, causing 7 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Kent County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Kent County measured 87.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Kent County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Kent County, Michigan.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/michigan/kent-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.