Ottawa County, Michigan severe weather history spans 340 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 54.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,555 nationally and #19 in Michigan.
340
Recorded events
21
Direct deaths
228
Direct injuries
$96.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Ottawa County, Michigan severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Ottawa County, Michigan severe weather history averages 4.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 91 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 80 events fall before 1990 and 260 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Ottawa County, Michigan record is tornado, responsible for 14 direct deaths. The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $38.8M 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 Ottawa County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 184 | 5 | $38.8M | 87 | 1962–2026 |
| Hail | 108 | 0 | $497K | 3 | 1961–2026 |
| Tornado | 25 | 14 | $4.6M | F5 | 1956–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 13 | 1 | $38.5M | 0 | 1996–2011 |
| Flood | 6 | 1 | $13.6M | 0 | 2008–2026 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $60K | 0 | 1998–1998 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2021–2021 |
Decade by decade
Ottawa County, Michigan severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
26 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 21 touched down inside it and 5 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 | Touched down here |
| 1966-07-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-09-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1963-06-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-09-22 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-06-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-03-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-08-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1991-05-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Ottawa County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1956 | Tornado | 14 | 200 | $250K | |
| May 31, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | GRAND HAVEN | 1 | 20 | $34.6M |
| Jun 8, 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | SPRING LAKE | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 7, 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | GRAND HAVEN | 1 | 0 | $250K |
| Aug 9, 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | GRAND HAVEN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | HARRISBURG | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 2008 | Flood | ROBINSON | 1 | 0 | $5K |
| Jun 8, 2008 | Flash Flood | HOLLAND | 1 | 0 | $1.0M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 76 year old farmer drowned while trying to remove boards from the Worley Drain Dam that regulates waters from Bass Creek. A significant number of roads were washed out in the city of Holland and water levels on roads in some low lying locations reached the roof tops of cars. ||A presidential disaster declaration was issued for Ottawa county due to all the flooding.
A large tree fell on a home in Grand Haven and killed a 72 year old man. An 88 mph measured wind gust was recorded at Grand Valley State University in Allendale. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across Ottawa county.
Law enforcement near Rusk in Ottawa county determined that a man drowned while apparently tending to a drainage ditch with rising waters near a driveway. This occurred at Lake Michigan Drive and 112th Avenue in Robinson township.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
301,203
Population (ACS)
$323K
Median home value
16
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 27, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 18, 2013 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 14, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND 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 Ottawa County, Michigan?
340 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 21 direct deaths and $96.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Ottawa County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 184 recorded events — 54.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Ottawa County?
26 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 21 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Ottawa County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Ottawa County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Ottawa County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ottawa County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 83 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Ottawa 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
- Otsego County 151
- Presque Isle County 95
- Oscoda County 113
- Roscommon County 172
- Osceola County 101
- Saginaw County 469
Cite this page
“Ottawa County, Michigan.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/michigan/ottawa-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.