Ionia County, Michigan severe weather history spans 216 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 68.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,343 nationally and #41 in Michigan.
216
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
22
Direct injuries
$29.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Ionia County, Michigan severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Ionia County, Michigan severe weather history averages 3.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 58 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 59 events fall before 1990 and 157 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $12.1M 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 Ionia County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 147 | 0 | $12.1M | 74 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 37 | 0 | $4.7M | 2.5 | 1968–2026 |
| Tornado | 25 | 0 | $5.4M | F2 | 1960–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 3 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 1997–2009 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $7.5M | 0 | 2013–2020 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
Decade by decade
Ionia County, Michigan severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
32 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 26 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968-04-23 | EF3 | 0 | 11 | 60.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1994-07-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-11-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-08-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 52.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1967-04-21 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-04-21 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 14.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1956-05-12 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 10.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1951-08-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 28.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 14.9 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Ionia County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 22, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $250K | |
| Jun 22, 2015 | Tornado | KENT CORNER | 0 | 5 | $3.2M |
| Jun 18, 1992 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 5 | $0 | |
| May 31, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | BELDING | 0 | 2 | $300K |
| Jul 16, 1986 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Jul 8, 1997 | Lightning | LAKE ODESSA | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 15, 1988 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Trained spotters reported that a severe thunderstorm produced hail up to 1.5 inches in diameter on the northeast side of Belding. The swath was up to one mile wide and was part of the swath that began in extreme northeast Ottawa County based on correlation with spotter reports and radar hail products.
A NWS storm survey determined that an EF-1 tornado struck Portland in Ionia county. The estimated peak wind speed was 110 mph. There was damage to homes and businesses throughout portions of Portland and more than 50 structures were impacted with roof damage and broken windows. Dozens of trees were snapped and uprooted. Three churches were heavily damaged. There were 5 minor injuries and no fatalities.
Tornado damage began just east of Orleans and moved northeast where it crossed M-44, bringing several large trees down, one of which fell on a house. The tornado then crossed West Long Lake Road where the concrete block wall of a garage was blown out and the wind peeled shingles off the roof of a house.||A path of tree damage about a hundred yards wide continued to the northeast and narrowed. The last damage noted was a few downed trees on East Boyer Road|about 3.5 miles southeast of Sheridan.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
66,574
Population (ACS)
$199K
Median home value
16
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 8, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 15, 2021 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Mar 27, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 18, 2013 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Ionia County, Michigan?
216 events are on record between 1957 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $29.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Ionia County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 147 recorded events — 68.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Ionia County?
32 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 26 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Ionia County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Ionia County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Ionia County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ionia County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 56 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Ionia 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
- Ingham County 311
- Iosco County 164
- Huron County 294
- Iron County 173
- Houghton County 242
- Isabella County 180
Cite this page
“Ionia County, Michigan.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/michigan/ionia-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.