Kent County, Michigan severe weather history spans 497 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 57.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #887 nationally and #9 in Michigan.
497
Recorded events
16
Direct deaths
376
Direct injuries
$145.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Kent County, Michigan severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Kent County, Michigan severe weather history averages 7.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 113 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 136 events fall before 1990 and 361 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Kent County, Michigan record is tornado, responsible for 9 direct deaths. The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $83.0M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Kent County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 287 | 7 | $83.0M | 87 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 140 | 0 | $15.3M | 4 | 1956–2026 |
| Tornado | 44 | 9 | $44.5M | F5 | 1956–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 14 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 1996–2026 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $560K | 0 | 1998–2026 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 1998–2010 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
Decade by decade
Kent County, Michigan severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
44 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 38 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956-04-03 | EF5 | 17 | 292 | 58.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-04-11 | EF4 | 5 | 142 | 20.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1967-04-21 | EF3 | 0 | 32 | 13.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-04-03 | EF3 | 0 | 12 | 60.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1975-05-20 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-08-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 52.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-09-09 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-04-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-09-22 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-05-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 14.9 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Kent County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | Tornado | 5 | 142 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 4, 1956 | Tornado | 4 | 130 | $25K | |
| Aug 25, 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | SAND LAKE | 3 | 0 | $10.0M |
| Jul 11, 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | BYRON CENTER | 1 | 1 | $5.0M |
| Jul 28, 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | CASCADE | 1 | 1 | $20K |
| May 17, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | WYOMING | 1 | 1 | $50K |
| Jul 24, 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | EAGLE MILLS | 1 | 0 | $500K |
| May 31, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | SAND LAKE | 0 | 53 | $49.3M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Radar data indicates the northern end of a strong bow echo moved east into southwestern Kent county at 10:45 a.m. and raced east northeast producing significant wind damage and exited far east central Kent county near Lowell at around 11:10 a.m. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down and uprooted in and near towns including Cutlerville, Wyoming and Kentwood.||A 38 year old man was killed inside his garage along 68th street SE in Cutlerville when wind gusts of up to 80 mph ripped a large tree and its roots out of the ground and toppling it onto the garage, splitting it in half. In addition, a woman suffered minor injuries when a tree fell on her home in Cutlerville.
Numerous large trees were snapped off or uprooted and there were numerous power outages, mostly in a more concentrated damage path just northwest to north and northeast of downtown Grand Rapids from Walker Avenue east to Fish Ladder Park and Lookout Park. One fatality occurred just north of downtown Grand Rapids due to wind blowing down a large hinged steel door on a shipping container onto the man.
Gusty thunderstorm winds flattened a house under construction in Wyoming in Kent County, causing one fatality and injuring another person. A 70 mile per hour wind gust was recorded in Grandville. Numerous trees were downed across the county. A 75 mile per hour wind gust was recorded in Grand Rapids.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
663,150
Population (ACS)
$290K
Median home value
13
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 8, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | 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 |
| Jun 30, 2004 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Kent County, Michigan?
497 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 16 direct deaths and $145.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Kent County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 287 recorded events — 57.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Kent County?
44 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 38 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Kent County?
13 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Kent County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Kent County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kent County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 92 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Kent 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
- Kalkaska County 77
- Keweenaw County 41
- Kalamazoo County 367
- Lake County 79
- Jackson County 306
- Lapeer County 390
Cite this page
“Kent County, Michigan.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/michigan/kent-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.