Wexford County, Michigan severe weather history spans 126 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 54.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,792 nationally and #60 in Michigan.
126
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$2.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Wexford County, Michigan severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Wexford County, Michigan severe weather history averages 1.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 40 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 15 events fall before 1990 and 111 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flash flood, with $832K in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Wexford County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 68 | 0 | $292K | 69 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 38 | 0 | $0 | 2 | 1984–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 9 | 0 | $832K | 0 | 2000–2013 |
| Tornado | 8 | 0 | $821K | F2 | 1963–2010 |
| Flood | 2 | 0 | $150K | 0 | 2008–2014 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Wexford County, Michigan severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
7 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 7 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1963-07-31 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 19.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-10-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-08-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-07-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-10-03 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-07-07 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Wexford County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 1974 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Widespread flooding developed in southern Wexford County, with isolated flooding in the north, thanks to three to six inches of rainfall in a few hours either side of midnight. Numerous roads were washed out, especially on the northwest side of Lake Cadillac, and near and north of Mesick. One hundred and fifty homes were impacted by high water.
A brief tornado occurred west of Cadillac, along Benson Road just south of M-55. A garage and part of a kitchen was ripped off of a home and destroyed. The owner was asleep in a bedroom on the other side of the house, and was not injured. An aluminum shed in the yard was wrapped around a tree. A home across the street was shifted slightly off its foundation. A few other nearby homes suffered shingle damage. Several large pine trees were uprooted.
Two areas of concentrated flooding occurred in Wexford County, with a number of road closures. One was along Lake Mitchell, just west of Cadillac. The other was along the Manistee River in far northern sections of the county. Water entered multiple homes at both locations.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
34,077
Population (ACS)
$170K
Median home value
7
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 |
| Jul 14, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| Jan 27, 1978 | Snowstorm | BLIZZARDS & SNOWSTORMS | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Wexford County, Michigan?
126 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $2.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Wexford County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 68 recorded events — 54.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Wexford County?
7 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 7 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Wexford County?
7 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Wexford County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Wexford County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Wexford County as very low risk, placing it in the 34 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Wexford 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
- Wayne County 920
- Washtenaw County 828
- Van Buren County 281
- Tuscola County 338
- Shiawassee County 305
- Schoolcraft County 94
Cite this page
“Wexford County, Michigan.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/michigan/wexford-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.