Crawford County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Crawford 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.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 2, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The swath of damaging winds continued from further west, but damage was becoming less widespread and more spotty with time. Still, there were occasional pockets were dozens of trees were downed, especially from Frederic to near Grayling. Tress took down power lines, and damaged cars, homes, and businesses. Almost 100 buildings suffered some degree of damage due to the storm.

2. May 18, 2010Wildfire, Crawford$825,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Meridian Boundary Fire began as a debris fire that rapidly expanded out of control. The fire was first spotted at 130 pm on May 18th, and grew very rapidly. 8800 acres would eventually burn, and by May 26th the fire was 95 percent contained. The fire occurred in southeast Crawford County, contained by Meridian Rd to the east, Pioneer Rd to the south, Willows Rd to the west, and USFS 4209 to the north. Twelve residences were destroyed, and another six were damaged, and 36 outbuildings were damaged or destroyed.

3. Apr 24, 2008Wildfire, Crawford$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Four Mile Road Fire developed early in the afternoon on the 24th, a few miles south-southeast of Grayling. Sparks from a passing train were a possible cause. It was a warm, dry, windy day, and a Red Flag Warning was in effect. The fire quickly expanded as it raced to the northwest, crossing I-75 by late afternoon between the Four Mile Road and I-75 Business Loop exits. Eventually, 1300 acres were burned, and the fire threatened the Ramada Inn and Admiral gas station on the far south end of Grayling. However, the only structures lost were about half a dozen cabins near the Simpson Lakes, about two miles south of downtown Grayling. Damage at the Grayling Game Club was near…

4. Mar 2, 2012Heavy Snow, Crawford$200,000
   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…

5. Sep 1, 2014Tornado$85,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-1 tornado crossed northern Crawford County. The tornado uprooted or snapped many trees, and caused significant roof damage to one residential roof, and one barn. Peak winds were estimated at 100 mph.

6. Jul 24, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$70,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sporadic tree damage occurred from Frederic southward to Lake Margrethe and Grayling. Downed trees damaged some homes and vehicles in the area, and a few roads were impassable for several hours until debris could be cleared. The winds also destroyed a swimming pool and shredded a large 7-Eleven sign. Some 3600 Consumers Energy customers lost power (some of whom were in Roscommon County).

7. Jun 18, 2012Tornado$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This EF1 tornado impacted the Forest Dunes Golf Club. The initial touchdown was near the entrance to the club. Damage along the first half of the path was sporadic, with some trees uprooted and/or snapped. Damage intensity increased as the tornado reached a clear-cut area adjacent to its path, allowing the winds to more directly strike a large stand of trees. Damage in this one stand, alongside one of the fairways at the club, was considerable, with the majority of the trees felled. All told, over 100 trees were uprooted and/or snapped, including a mix of hardwoods and softwoods. Maximum winds were estimated at 100 mph.

8. Dec 20, 2012Winter Storm, Crawford$45,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A powerful low pressure system passed across Southern Lower Michigan on the night of the 20th. Precipitation surged north into Northern Michigan early in the day on the 20th, falling primarily as snow over Eastern Upper and the high terrain of Northern Lower, and as a rain/snow mix near the coasts. The snow was heavy where it was all snow, with 6 to 9 inches falling during the day in some areas. As night arrived, cooler air started to enter the region, and precipitation changed to all snow (except near Saginaw Bay). Another, more widespread round of heavy snow resulted. Total snowfall amounts of 5 to 10 inches were common near the Northern Lower Michigan coastline, ramping up to…

9. Jun 5, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large swath of sporadic tree damage occurred in eastern and northeast Crawford County. Several homes were damaged by falling trees.

10. Nov 13, 2005High Wind, Crawford$40,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Many tress and large limbs downed. Two homes damaged by falling trees.

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

104°F2 times, most recently Jul 12, 1936

All-time low

−42°FFeb 17, 1979

Warmest night

80°F2 times, most recently Jul 31, 1911

Coldest day

−12°FFeb 10, 1899

Wettest day

5.02 inAug 9, 1965

Snowiest day

14.0 in4 times, most recently Jan 30, 1987

Hottest year

1921mean 46.9°F

Coldest year

1943mean 37.0°F

Wettest year

200642.75 in

Driest year

192519.97 in

Snowiest season

172.1 in1989-90

Station Grayling (USC00203391), 1,151 ft elevation, 1.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1891 to September 30, 2026; 98.7% 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 USC00203391.
• 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.
• 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.