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Berrien County, Michigan severe weather history spans 505 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 65.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #859 nationally and #8 in Michigan.
505
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
31
Direct injuries
$22.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Berrien County, Michigan severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Berrien County, Michigan severe weather history averages 7.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 113 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 116 events fall before 1990 and 389 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Berrien County, Michigan record is rip current, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $9.2M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Berrien County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 330 | 2 | $1.1M | 83 | 1955–2026 |
| Hail | 105 | 0 | $13K | 2.25 | 1955–2024 |
| Tornado | 32 | 0 | $3.9M | F2 | 1956–2017 |
| Flash Flood | 18 | 0 | $7.4M | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Flood | 11 | 0 | $9.2M | 0 | 1998–2026 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $840K | 0 | 2001–2006 |
| Rip Current | 3 | 3 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2005 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2021–2021 |
| Waterspout | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
Decade by decade
Berrien County, Michigan severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
28 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 28 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-06-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-08-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 26.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-04-12 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-04 | EF2 | 0 | 9 | 44.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-06-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-06-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-04-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-03-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Berrien County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 16, 1988 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 4 | $0 | |
| Aug 27, 2005 | Rip Current | SAWYER | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 21, 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | COLOMA | 1 | 0 | $10K |
| Aug 17, 2001 | Rip Current | BRIDGMAN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 2001 | Rip Current | BRIDGMAN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 5, 1976 | Tornado | 0 | 9 | $250K | |
| May 21, 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | BERRIEN SPGS | 0 | 7 | $50K |
| Apr 13, 1979 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Coast Guard officials received a report of a 20 year old male caught in a rip current 100 yards off shore from Warren Dunes State Park, near Sawyer. The person was removed from the water and was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later. Coast Guard and park officials had warned of strong rip current activity through the day.
Extensive flooding occurred across the county with over 300 structures suffering varying degrees of damage from the flood waters. Several roads were closed across the area with some suffering partial washouts as rivers rose to record or near record levels. Initial damage estimates are at least 8 million dollars.
A survey of flood damage from emergency management officials reported in severe damage to a electrical substation that resulted in widespread power outages for several days. In addition a total of 108 structures suffered varying degrees of flood damage, mainly from water as high as four feet into basements. 5 homes suffered major damage and were uninhabitable due to extensive water damage or in one case a collapse of a basement wall. Five to locally as much as eight inches of rain fell in this area. Estimated damage to property was 1.343 million dollars.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
153,288
Population (ACS)
$224K
Median home value
12
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 |
| Jun 30, 2004 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jan 10, 2001 | Snowstorm | SNOW | EM |
| Jan 27, 1999 | Snowstorm | MI – SEVERE WEATHER 1/2 /99 | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Berrien County, Michigan?
505 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths and $22.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Berrien County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 330 recorded events — 65.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Berrien County?
28 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 28 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Berrien County?
12 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Berrien County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Berrien County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Berrien County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 82 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Berrien 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
- Benzie County 62
- Branch County 329
- Bay County 290
- Calhoun County 390
- Barry County 251
- Cass County 306
Cite this page
“Berrien County, Michigan.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/michigan/berrien-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.