Charlevoix County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Charlevoix County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NASA (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Mar 2, 2012Heavy Snow, Charlevoix$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   One of the highest-impact snowstorms in recent memory pounded Northern Michigan on the night of the 2nd. Low pressure tracked from Missouri, to southern Lower Michigan, and on to eastern Canada, while rapidly strengthening. Precipitation surged northward into the region on the evening of the 2nd. This was primarily snow, except in parts of east central Lower Michigan (especially near Lake Huron), where temperatures were mild enough for rain. Snow wound down on the morning of the 3rd, and though somewhat blustery winds occurred behind the system on the 3rd, blowing snow was limited because the snowfall was so wet.|Snow totals ranged from 6 to 14 inches across most of Northern…

2. May 30, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large and historic barn was severely damaged. Multiple trees were downed, one onto a home.

3. Aug 26, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$45,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A 64 mph gust was measured at the Charlevoix Airport. Numerous trees were downed in Hayes Township and Boyne City. Some the the worst damage was along the south shore of Lake Charlevoix, where docks, boats, and hoists were damaged. A vehicle was damaged when a tree limb fell on it. A seaplane was also blown onto shore and tipped over. Walloon Lake was hard hit as well, with several boats tipped over.

4. Jul 8, 2016Hail$45,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Some vehicles were damaged by very large hail.

5. Nov 27, 2007Winter Storm, Charlevoix$45,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A clipper low pressure system rapidly intensified to the northwest of Northern Michigan. Lake effect snow and very strong winds developed after a cold front passed on the morning of the 27th. Charlevoix and Pellston both measured wind gusts around 60 mph by midday. Some trees and power lines were downed as a result. One building in Boyne City was significantly damaged by a falling tree. Snowfall in the snowbelts was generally two inches or less. However, a narrow band of about four inches fell from Norwood to Grayling. The snow and gusty winds combined to produce near blizzard conditions at times.|Further north, snowfall amounts were even higher in Eastern Upper Michigan, with…

6. Mar 28, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large tree blown down onto home, and a roof blown off a campground building, amid other wind damage reports from the East Jordan area. Trained spotter reported a gust to 52 mph in the Boyne City area, and the AWOS sensor at the Boyne Falls airport reported a gust to 51mph at 21:34. Several power outages were noted in the East Jordan area during the evening and overnight, prior to icing-related outages.

7. Nov 12, 2003High Wind, Charlevoix$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Low pressure intensified rapidly as it moved through and east of the northern Great Lakes region. Winds rapidly increased behind a cold front passage on the evening of the 12th, with numerous wind gusts in excess of 50 mph. Some of the highest gusts: 62 mph at Pellston (129 am on the 13th), 61 mph at Charlevoix (1014 pm on the 12th), 56 mph at Harbor Springs (1234 am on the 13th) and Oscoda (256 am on the 13th), 77 mph at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (1108 pm on the 12th). The highest wind gust in the region was 79 mph at the Presque Isle Lighthouse (548 am on the 13th). Spotters reported wind gusts in excess of 55 mph at Manistee, Northport, and Ossineke. The winds…

8. May 31, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong to severe thunderstorms developed along and just ahead of an incoming cold front.

9. Nov 13, 2005High Wind, Charlevoix$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines downed. Some shingles torn off roofs.

10. Oct 27, 2010High Wind, Charlevoix$17,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    An historically deep low pressure system lifted across Minnesota on the 26th, and passed just north of Lake Superior on the 27th. This storm produced widespread strong to damaging winds across Northern Michigan. Damaging winds kicked in at a few spots by mid-afternoon on the 26th, but the 27th saw the highest winds, with widespread tree and roofing damage, along with power outages. Some vehicles and structures were damaged by falling trees. Power was out for several days at some locations. Peak wind speeds included: 72 mph in Naubinway; 63 mph at Whitefish Point, Manistee Harbor, and Gaylord; 59 mph in Pellston; and 58 mph in Alpena. At one point, the Alpena Airport suspended…

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

99°F2 times, most recently Jul 2, 1911

All-time low

−33°FFeb 17, 1904

Warmest night

80°FJul 29, 1917

Coldest day

−9°FFeb 6, 1895

Wettest day

4.72 inJun 24, 1898

Snowiest day

20.5 inNov 11, 1950

Hottest year

2024mean 49.4°F

Coldest year

2014mean 41.7°F

Wettest year

201345.02 in

Driest year

190616.87 in

Snowiest season

164.5 in1978-79

Station Charlevoix (USC00201468), 593 ft elevation, 9.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1891 to October 27, 2026; 96.6% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00201468.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.