Clare County, Michigan severe weather history spans 125 recorded events between 1960 and 2024. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 55.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,796 nationally and #61 in Michigan.
125
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$7.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Clare County, Michigan severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Clare County, Michigan severe weather history averages 2.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 40 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 21 events fall before 1990 and 104 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $3.0M 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 Clare County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 69 | 0 | $1.1M | 65 | 1960–2024 |
| Hail | 39 | 0 | $715K | 1.75 | 1966–2022 |
| Tornado | 10 | 0 | $2.4M | F1 | 1976–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 5 | 0 | $125K | 0 | 1996–2001 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 1996–1996 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $3.0M | 0 | 2013–2013 |
Decade by decade
Clare County, Michigan severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
11 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 9 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-03-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-07-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 12.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-06-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-06-26 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 3.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-07-30 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-05-21 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-10-06 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 20.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1994-07-17 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-17 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Clare County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 17, 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | HARRISON | 0 | 1 | $75K |
| Jun 18, 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hamilton Township | 0 | 1 | $50K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The first indications of tornado damage were near Bringold Avenue about one-third of a mile south of Mannsiding Road. The tornado traveled east northeast across Lake George and continued east near Cedar Road and continued on to the east northeast |crossing US-127 and ending just south of the intersection of East Gladwin Road and South Rodgers Avenue.||The damage included boats flipped on Lake George as well as hundreds of|trees downed along the path – including some trees falling onto homes.|There was a concentrated area of damage where winds were estimated|at 95 mph just east of Old State Road about one-quarter mile south|of Mannsiding Road. After that, the damage became intermittent and|weaker with some pockets of 65-80 mph damage.
An NWS storm survey concluded that an EF-0 tornado occurred with a path length of about a hundred yards. The upwind side of a barn wall was partly caved in. Tree limbs were snapped and a house attachment or garage-like structure on cinderblocks was destroyed. One large and healthy tree northeast of the garage-like structure damage and along the centerline of the tornado track was completely delimbed. Elsewhere, there were trees snapped or sheared. Near the end of the path a section of metal roofing was torn off a barn.
A trained spotter reported that numerous healthy poplar trees of around a foot and a half in diameter were blown down onto portions of Route 127 near Snow Snake Ski and Golf. Several trees were also blown down on the golf course.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
31,218
Population (ACS)
$134K
Median home value
9
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 10, 2001 | Snowstorm | SNOW | EM |
| Sep 18, 1986 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR |
| Jan 27, 1978 | Snowstorm | BLIZZARDS & SNOWSTORMS | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Clare County, Michigan?
125 events are on record between 1960 and 2024, causing 0 direct deaths and $7.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Clare County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 69 recorded events — 55.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Clare County?
11 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 9 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Clare County?
9 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Clare County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Clare County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Clare County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 47 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Clare 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
- Chippewa County 119
- Clinton County 255
- Cheboygan County 97
- Crawford County 122
- Charlevoix County 81
- Delta County 271
Cite this page
“Clare County, Michigan.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/michigan/clare-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.