Grand Traverse County

Every recorded tornado

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

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 2, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$7.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The most concentrated damage in Grand Traverse County occurred on the Old Mission Peninsula. Many trees were down, and multiple vineyards and orchards suffered substantial damage. Vehicles and buildings were also damaged by felled trees. Across Grand Traverse County, nine buildings were considered destroyed, and nearly 400 were damaged in some way.

2. Aug 2, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$5.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Considerable wind damage occurred in central Grand Traverse County, including near and just south of Traverse City. Many trees were downed, causing damage to vehicles and homes. Some roads were difficult to travel for a day or two after the storm.

3. Oct 6, 2012Flash Flood$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A temporary dam and de-watering structure was in place alongside the Brown Bridge Dam on the Boardman River. This temporary dam was to assist in drawing down the small lake (Brown Bridge Pond) behind the dam, prior to the permanent removal of Brown Bridge Dam. This temporary dam failed on the morning of the 6th, and by late afternoon, most of the remaining water in Brown Bridge Pond had been released downstream. Within an hour, road closings occurred along Garfield and River Roads, and homes were evacuated along the river between Garfield and Keystone Roads. Eventually, 53 homes were impacted, with varying degrees of damage. Docks, small footbridges, and a number of smaller…

4. Mar 2, 2012Heavy Snow, Grand Traverse$600,000
   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. May 28, 2020Flash Flood$310,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Munson Hospital measured 3.12 inches of rain during the day on the 28th. Most of this was dumped in a short period of time, early in the afternoon. This resulted in a small area of flash flooding, in downtown Traverse City and on the near west side. Water rose up to three feet high on some roads and parking lots, and in a few spots the water was higher. Some people were trapped in vehicles and required rescue. Numerous vehicles were heavily damaged. The basement of Munson Hospital flooded. Kids Creek rose out of banks, flooding roads and some buildings.

6. Apr 18, 2002Lightning$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Home destroyed by fire caused by lightning strike.

7. Jun 10, 2020Flash Flood$90,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Training thunderstorms brought heavy rain to parts of Traverse City. Munson Hospital measured 2.45 of rain during the afternoon and evening. Quick-hitting flash flooding developed in the area, and in particular on the near west side of the city. Kids Creek overflowed its banks. Cedar Street and other roads near Munson Hospital were flooded. This event was extremely similar, though not quite as hard hitting, as the flash flood event in the same location back on May 28 2020.

8. Apr 14, 2014Flood$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Boardman River flooded a few homes near Boardman Plains Road. In addition, Townline Road south of South Airport was closed by floodwaters.

9. Dec 16, 2021High Wind, Grand Traverse$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An impressive sub-980mb cyclone tracked across western Lake Superior into Ontario during the morning of 12/16, bringing widespread wind gusts of 60-70mph across all of northern Michigan. The highest gust recorded was 70mph at Traverse City Cherry Capitol airport. Widespread downed trees, limbs and powerlines were seen across the County Warning Area, leaving many with power outages that extended for several days. Some schools and businesses across the area were forced to close for the day due to power outages. The Mackinac Bridge was forced to partially close to high profile vehicles for around 12 hours due to winds reported of 82 mph from the mid-span of the bridge.

10. Nov 13, 2005High Wind, Grand Traverse$45,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Numerous trees downed. Several homes damaged by falling trees, and a car was flattened.

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

105°FJul 7, 1936

All-time low

−37°FFeb 17, 1979

Warmest night

85°FAug 20, 1916

Coldest day

−10°FFeb 10, 1899

Wettest day

4.30 inAug 23, 1898

Snowiest day

16.0 in2 times, most recently Jan 25, 1990

Hottest year

2024mean 51.2°F

Coldest year

1904mean 41.9°F

Wettest year

194240.28 in

Driest year

191315.06 in

Snowiest season

191.2 in1995-96

Station Traverse City Cherry Capital Airport (USW00014850), 608 ft elevation, 2.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1896 to October 26, 2026; 99.8% 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 USW00014850.
• 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.