78
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$2.9M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Mason County, Michigan: 78 recorded events between 1976 and 2024. The strongest on record measured 70. That places the county #2,481 nationally and #53 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Mason County, Michigan: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Mason County is the 2000s, when 27 of the county's 78 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 Mason County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 66.7% of all recorded severe weather across 5 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,481 for this hazard and #53 within Michigan, putting it in the 21.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Mason County with 19 recorded events, while Jan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1998 | LUDINGTON | 0 | 0 | 5 | $1.0M |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 27, 2024 | FERN | 52 | $5K |
| Aug 24, 2021 | LUDINGTON | 52 | $5K |
| Aug 11, 2021 | BASS LAKE | 52 | $50K |
| Nov 11, 2020 | LUDINGTON ARPT | 52 | $100K |
| Aug 27, 2020 | HAMLIN LAKE LAKE | 60 | $0 |
| Jul 19, 2020 | FOUNTAIN | 52 | $10K |
| Jun 3, 2020 | SCOTTVILLE | 52 | $25K |
| Jul 20, 2019 | MILLERTON | 52 | $50K |
| Jul 20, 2019 | WALHALLA | 61 | $250K |
| Jun 1, 2019 | FOUNTAIN | 52 | $1K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Michigan Department of State Police – Emergency Management Division's (EMD's) Damage and Injury Assessment Report indicated $398,000 in public damage costs, 66 homes damaged, 3 homes destroyed, and 4 businesses damaged. Five injuries were reported, one of which required hospitilization. In addition, 12 vacation/secondary residences incurred major damage and 9 had minor damage. Newspaper and media reports indicated public and private damage costs combined exceeded $1.0 Million. Mason County declared a local state of emergency and was granted a Governor's disaster declaration to activate state assistance for the county. On June 24th, President Clinton granted a Major Disaster Declaration for Mason County, making federal disaster assistance available.
Wind gusts of up to near 80 mph brought down several trees across portions of Mason county. Extensive tree damage was found along a twenty mile swath starting at Tamarack Park and ending near Lake Emerson. Power poles were also destroyed along Maple road.
A peak wind gust of 57 mph registered at the Mason County Airport just east of Ludington when a line of severe thunderstorms moved onshore around 12:15 AM EDT, Wednesday, September 17, 1997. The Mason County Road Commission reported trees and power lines were downed across the county, cutting power to 500 customers of Consumers Energy and Western Michigan Electric Cooperative. One tree, nine feet in circumference, toppled onto the roof of the Ludington Outboard Club building along the Pere Marquette Lake.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Mason County, Michigan?
78 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Mason County between 1976 and 2024, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Mason County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Mason County measured 70.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Mason 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 Mason County, Michigan.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/michigan/mason-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.