Delta County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 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.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 20, 1996Flood, Delta$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rapid snowmelt combined with rain pushed the Escanaba River above flood stage on the 20th near Cornell. Flooding occuredduring this period to the Escanaba and Ford Rivers along with numerous small streams. The flooding closed up to 24 roads at the height of the flooding on the 21st and washed out several roads. The most severe washout occured on Highway M35 near Portage Creek south of Escanaba. The flooding was confined to roads, yards and basements. Most of the damage was to washed out roads.

2. Apr 12, 2026Flood$550,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   County emergency management reported Delta County Airport closed on the 13th due to water over the runways. Power was cut to the VOR facility and water was at least 3 feet deep. At least 4 roads in the city of Escanaba were closed on the 13th. In Rapid River, water over the road closed the US-41 and US-2 intersection. A culvert washout closed County Road 503 in Bay De Noc Township from the 16th to the 17th. Water over the road on County Road 497/GG in Nahma caused the road to be closed from the 17th to the 27th. Drone footage along the Ford River provided by the emergency manager highlighted multiple structures threated, surrounded, or inundated by high water. County emergency…

3. May 17, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Microburst with wind gusts over 75 mph downed dozens of trees and damaged buildings at Cornell and Gladstone. At Cornell, strong winds destroyed a barn. In Gladstone, trees up 30 inches in diameter were blown down. Three storage sheds were destroyed, 15 homes suffered significant damage, and many other homes and businesses received minor damage. A 12 year girl in Gladstone suffered a broken arm when a pop up camper she was in flipped over. A woman inside a Gladstone house received a lacerated ear when a 2by 4 from a demolished storage shed crashed through a window.

4. Oct 5, 1997Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
5. Aug 31, 2020Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An unusual low-topped supercell with no lightning produced a brief spin-up of an EF-1 tornado west of Escanaba. The rotating wall cloud and lowering funnel were observed by travelers on Highway US-2 as the tornado initially touched down near Pete's Pick and Pull Auto Parts snapping and knocking down several trees and utility poles. A couple of trees fell on one residence in this vicinity. The tornado then crossed US-2 moving northeastward as it caused extensive damage to to several storage units at Pine Ridge Storage. The tornado continued northeastward into a wooded area where hundreds of trees were snapped and uprooted. As the thunderstorm collapsed the damage evolved into…

6. Jul 25, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   There was a delayed report via social media of damaging thunderstorm winds in the town of Rock. Two barns, two large greenhouses and a transformer were destroyed, and several vehicles were also damaged. Hundreds of large trees were downed with diameters estimated to range between eight inches to a foot. Several power lines were down causing power outages in the Rock area. The time of the report was estimated from radar.

7. Jul 5, 2021Lightning$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Delta County Sherriff's Department reported two structures fires and a tree fire in Escanaba as a result of lightning strikes. It took over three and a half hours for firefighters to extinguish the first fire which occurred in the attic of a house at 514 South 12th Street. A man and his dog were rescued from one of the apartments at this residence. Fire fighter fatigue was reported to be a major difficulty at this fire due to the heat and humidity, and one firefighter sustained a minor injury while fighting the blaze. Escanaba Public Safety was assisted on the scene by Delta County Central Dispatch, the Escanaba Township and Ford River Township fire departments, Gladstone…

8. Oct 21, 2019Lakeshore Flood, Delta$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   There were numerous social media posts of pictures and video documenting the lakeshore flooding in Gladstone and Escanaba on the 21st. Pictures and reports included flooding of parking lots and pier structures by the Gladstone Harbor and Yacht Club, and flooding of Ludington Park and basement flooding of homes along Lake Shore Drive in Escanaba. Piers and the Municipal Dock at the Escanaba Yacht Club were also flooded.

9. May 15, 2025Lightning$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Escanaba Public Safety investigator confirmed a lightning strike started a fire causing severe damage at the Bonifas Arts Center and Theater. The theater suffered heavy fire and water damage, with an estimated 6 to 9 months of closure. The arts center was closed for approximately two months.

10. Nov 10, 1998High Wind, Delta$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    On the 23rd anniversary of the 1975 storm that sank the Edmond Fitzgerald on Lake Superior, a deep low pressure system (central pressure 28.41 inches of mercury) developed over the central plains and tracked northeast across western Lake Superior. Strong winds spread over Michigan's Upper Peninsula with sustained speeds of 30 to 40 mph and gusts as high as 87 mph. A gust of 94 mph was recorded by the Ontonagon County Road Commission. Damage was reported across the region with business signs blown down and roofs damaged as well as damage to homes, vehicles, utility poles, power lines and transformers from falling trees and branches. The strong winds even blew away a city's holiday…

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

101°FJul 7, 1988

All-time low

−34°FMar 3, 2003

Warmest night

72°F2 times, most recently Jul 17, 2013

Coldest day

−5°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

3.15 inOct 18, 2016

Snowiest day

25.2 inMar 17, 2026

Hottest year

2012mean 45.7°F

Coldest year

2014mean 37.6°F

Wettest year

201747.70 in

Driest year

199422.45 in

Snowiest season

317.5 in1995-96

Station Chatham Experiment Farm 2 (USC00201486), 870 ft elevation, 37.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1987 to October 26, 2026; 98.8% 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 USC00201486.
• 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.