Dickinson County, Michigan severe weather history spans 248 recorded events between 1961 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 47.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,118 nationally and #34 in Michigan.
248
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$8.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Dickinson County, Michigan severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Dickinson County, Michigan severe weather history averages 3.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 84 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 19 events fall before 1990 and 229 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $7.0M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Dickinson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 117 | 0 | $1.0M | 78 | 1961–2024 |
| Hail | 89 | 0 | $225K | 2.75 | 1963–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 13 | 0 | $288K | 0 | 1999–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2022 |
| Tornado | 9 | 0 | $7.0M | F3 | 1974–2010 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $171K | 0 | 2005–2012 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 2019–2026 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2010 |
Decade by decade
Dickinson County, Michigan severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
9 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 8 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987-07-11 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 71.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2002-09-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-06-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-07-27 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-07-27 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-09-30 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-09-30 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado developed over northeast Florence County, WI (See Storm Data for Wisconsin, Northeastern, for more information on the beginning portion of this tornado) and crossed the Menominee River just south of the Iron Mountain-Kingsford airport. The storm moved east-northeast into Kingsford and Iron Mountain. As the storm moved into Iron Mountain, the track shifted more to the east and the damage path became more sporadic before the tornado lifted completely on the east side of Iron Mountain. Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down, blocking highway US-2 and disrupting electric power and telephone service. Gas lines were ruptured and several commercial buildings sustained substantial roof damage in Kingsford.
Scattered reports of trees down. Part of the roof on the North Dickinson School was torn off and carried several hundered yards east over the football field. The wood framed, sheet metal-sided bus garage was considered a total loss and a bus inside the garage was slightly damaged. Near Merriman, an all-terrain vehicle was crushed, two houses suffered roof damage, and a shed and a van were seriously damaged by falling trees. A pick-up truck was crushed by a falling tree in Hardwood.
The Dickinson County Emergency Manager reported two county roads completely cut in two from flooding, one of which was CR-581. Seven other county roads were partially washed out. The total damage estimate was near $200,000.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
25,954
Population (ACS)
$153K
Median home value
5
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, 1978 | Snowstorm | BLIZZARDS & SNOWSTORMS | EM |
| Mar 2, 1977 | Drought | DROUGHT | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Dickinson County, Michigan?
248 events are on record between 1961 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $8.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Dickinson County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 117 recorded events — 47.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Dickinson County?
9 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 8 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Dickinson County?
5 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Dickinson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Dickinson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Dickinson County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 59 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Dickinson 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
- Delta County 271
- Eaton County 230
- Crawford County 122
- Emmet County 84
- Clinton County 255
- Genesee County 756
Cite this page
“Dickinson County, Michigan.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/michigan/dickinson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.