Marquette County, Michigan severe weather history spans 536 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 44.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #762 nationally and #6 in Michigan.
536
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$80.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Marquette County, Michigan severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Marquette County, Michigan severe weather history averages 7.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 175 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 51 events fall before 1990 and 485 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Marquette County, Michigan record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $64.7M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Marquette County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 239 | 1 | $2.2M | 83 | 1958–2025 |
| Hail | 218 | 0 | $64.7M | 3 | 1956–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 20 | 0 | $60K | 0 | 2006–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 17 | 0 | $3.0M | 0 | 2003–2022 |
| Flood | 15 | 0 | $8.9M | 0 | 2002–2026 |
| Tornado | 11 | 0 | $75K | F1 | 1973–2016 |
| Lightning | 10 | 0 | $144K | 0 | 2008–2025 |
| Wildfire | 4 | 0 | $960K | 0 | 1999–1999 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2016 |
Decade by decade
Marquette 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-05-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-05-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-06-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-06-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-08-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-07-06 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 5.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-08-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-08-15 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-08-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-09-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Marquette County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 1988 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| May 2, 1999 | Wildfire | REPUBLIC | 0 | 4 | $960K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Fairly widespread flooding was observed across a large portion of Marquette County with flooding observed along the Chocolay, Escanaba and Michigamme Rivers. Some of the most severe and longest-duration flooding was along the Michigamme River near Republic and Witch Lake. On April 24th Marquette County officials described extensive and significant flooding damage to 25+ roads and 7+ crossings with damage estimates exceeding $7 million. Marquette County was added to the state of emergency declaration on 4/21 by Governor Whitmer to aid in flood recovery efforts.
Heavy rainfall of three to four inches from thunderstorms over an approximate three-hour time period caused flooding from downtown Ishpeming across County Road 510 at the Noquemanon 510 Trailhead to County Road 550 near Wetmore Landing and Harlow Lake. The flooding in Ishpeming caused multiple cars to get stranded in nearly 2 feet of water near the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame and water over the road on Hill Street. Flooding also closed portions of County Road 510 near the Noquemanon 510 Trailhead and portions of County Road 550 were closed near Wetmore Landing and Harlow Lake. In July, Governor Whitmer declared a state of emergency for the flood damage in western Marquette County on 5/12.
Rapid melting of significant late season snow pack caused minor to moderate flooding of some secondary roads across portions of Marquette County from the 28th into the 30th. Minor flooding continued into early May. Some flooding of basements was also reported. Governor Rick Snyder declared a state of disaster in Marquette County where nearly $ 625,000 of property damage occurred due to the flooding mainly to roadway infrastructure.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
67,112
Population (ACS)
$217K
Median home value
11
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 30, 2026 | 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 |
| May 6, 2002 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Marquette County, Michigan?
536 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $80.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Marquette County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 239 recorded events — 44.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Marquette 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 Marquette County?
11 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Marquette County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Marquette County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Marquette County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 70 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Marquette 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
- Manistee County 121
- Mason County 117
- Macomb County 709
- Mecosta County 132
- Mackinac County 59
- Menominee County 245
Cite this page
“Marquette County, Michigan.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/michigan/marquette-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.