52
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$24.2M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Leelanau County, Michigan: 52 recorded events between 1975 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 78. That places the county #2,700 nationally and #69 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Leelanau County, Michigan: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Leelanau County is the 2010s, when 21 of the county's 52 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 Leelanau County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 52.5% of all recorded severe weather across 6 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,700 for this hazard and #69 within Michigan, putting it in the 14.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Aug is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Leelanau County with 19 recorded events, while Jan 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.
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 24, 2025 | GLEN ARBOR | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 25, 2023 | FOUCH | 50 | $0 |
| May 20, 2022 | LAKE LEELANAU | 50 | $1K |
| May 20, 2022 | GLEN ARBOR | 50 | $1K |
| Aug 11, 2021 | BINGHAM | 51 | $0 |
| Aug 11, 2021 | EMPIRE | 50 | $10K |
| Sep 3, 2019 | LELAND | 52 | $10K |
| Jul 20, 2019 | SUTTONS BAY | 52 | $8K |
| Jul 20, 2019 | CEDAR | 52 | $5K |
| Jul 20, 2019 | BURDICKVILLE | 52 | $6K |
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.
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.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Leelanau County, Michigan?
52 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Leelanau County between 1975 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Leelanau County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Leelanau County measured 78.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Leelanau 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 Leelanau County, Michigan.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/michigan/leelanau-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.