147
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
9
Direct injuries
$12.1M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Ionia County, Michigan: 147 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 74. That places the county #1,570 nationally and #34 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Ionia County, Michigan: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Ionia County is the 2000s, when 43 of the county's 147 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 Ionia County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 68.1% of all recorded severe weather across 6 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #1,570 for this hazard and #34 within Michigan, putting it in the 50.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Ionia County with 41 recorded events, while Nov 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 18, 1992 | 61 | 0 | 5 | $0 | |
| May 31, 1998 | BELDING | 0 | 0 | 2 | $300K |
| Jul 16, 1986 | 0 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 14, 2026 | PEWAMO | 61 | $0 |
| Aug 16, 2025 | CAMPBELL CORNERS | 52 | $0 |
| May 16, 2025 | IONIA | 61 | $0 |
| May 16, 2025 | IONIA CO ARPT | 52 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2025 | PORTLAND | 52 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2025 | CAMPBELL CORNERS | 56 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2025 | BERLIN CENTER | 61 | $0 |
| Aug 27, 2024 | IONIA | 52 | $75K |
| Aug 25, 2023 | CLARKSVILLE | 70 | $10.0M |
| Jul 13, 2023 | COOKS CORNERS | 52 | $5K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Michigan State Police EMD's Damage and Injury Assessment Report indicated $150,000 in public damage costs, another $150,000 in private property damage, 2000 homes damaged, 10 homes destroyed, and 10 businesses damaged. Two injuries were reported. Most of the significant damage was reported across the northern portion of the county including the cities of Belding, Muir, and Pewamo and the townships of Otisco, Orleans, Ronald, North Plains, and Lyons. Ionia County declared a local state of emergency and was granted a Governor's disaster declaration to activate state assistance to the county. On June 24th, President Clinton granted a Major Disaster Declaration for Ionia County, making federal disaster assistance available.
The public reported that a large barn was blown off it's foundation and there was minor damage to a small barn in the same area near Woodbury. Scattered wind damage was also noted from southeast of Lowell to Lake Odessa in the form of scattered downed trees and limbs.
Strong thunderstorm winds, gusting to 75 mph uprooted 116 trees, 100 of which were apple trees. That was estimated to be about 75 bushels. This was on Fisk road, just west of Belding. The total cost of the damage to this orchard was several thousand dollars. This all was from just one orchard, but most of the orchards in the Fisk Road area also reported medium to heavy damage from this storm.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Ionia County, Michigan?
147 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Ionia County between 1957 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Ionia County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Ionia County measured 74.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Ionia 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 Ionia County, Michigan.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/michigan/ionia-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.